Hybrid Angel
by Girl.With.The.Lavender.Shoes
Summary: An unexpected visitor is met in the forest when a human girl is bit near the Cullen's household. They give her a home while she is transforming but some surprising bumps are in the road. This girl is not a normal vampire. What will the Cullen's do? Is this a trick of the Volturi? Is she working for Victoria and her newborn army? Takes place in Twilight Saga: Eclipse & Breaking Dawn
1. Chapter 1: The Moon

**1\. The Moon**

"Are you still trying to outrun me?" his voice echoed against the forests trees. I tripped over a moss covered log but quickly regained my speed and continued running. He laughed at my attempt of escape.  
"Somebody help me!" I screamed, though I knew no one would hear. Thunder crashed behind me as I ran like my life depended on it. Because it did.

Suddenly a dark figure appeared in the corner of my eye. As soon as I ran passed it, the dark figure would appear on the other side. "Get away from me!" I screamed. My racing heartbeat filled my ears. The birds weren't chirping. The sun wasn't beaming. The wind wasn't flowing. I felt like everything surrounding, the exception being myself and my predator, was frozen. That's all I was to him: his prey. Like lightning, he suddenly flashed in front of me. I skidded to a halt, out of breath. Realizing that it was pouring rain. I was no more than 5 feet away from him. How was this possible? He was as fast as light itself. He was as pale and gorgeous as the moon. His eyes...they were red...like blood. And burned bright like fire. He suddenly smirked at me, showing his gleaming white teeth.

I slowly started backing up. "Now, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, not hesitating to take a few steps towards me. "Please," I whimpered. He chuckled looking up toward the sky, took a deep breath and then growled as he slowly moved his head back down to stare at me. I quickly turned and bolted in the opposite direction, but he was too fast. I felt something wrap around my waist and then spin me around. It was as cold as ice. He spun me around again, then threw me mid-air. My back colliding with a nearby tree. I heard something sickeningly snap and I couldn't tell if it was the tree or my bones. Probably both.

I fell back to the cold forest floor, hitting my head against an old fallen branch. I could feel the blood quickly dripping down from my scalp and painting the dirt and moss surrounding.

He threw his head back and laughed. Then took another deep breath. His eyes seemed to grow brighter by the second. _Dear God, just let him kill me quickly._ I screamed in my mind. My whole body was exhausted and limp. I felt numb. I felt frozen. I felt dead.

The man zipped over and was crouched over me. "Now this is my favorite part." He said, blowing his sweet scent in my face. How could someone so beautiful be so monstrous? He grabbed my shoulders and propped me up so my back was supported by the trees bark. I cried out in pain, bones or bark- I couldn't tell which- scraped and cut further into my back. He lowered his head to my neck. "Get away from me," I begged one last time, but it came out as a mere whisper. His ice lips kissed my collarbone and suddenly his teeth broke through my skin.

So I screamed. I screamed as loud and as high pitched as I ever imagined I could. I didn't recognize it was my own voice until his weight was lifted off of me and I could slowly inhale a deep breath, but I couldn't tell what had dragged him off.

I felt like I was being suffocated in a burning pit of darkness.

Burning. Burning. I felt like fire was suddenly streaming through my veins. All I could focus on was the burning sensation and my heartbeat that was quickening by the second and filling my ears with the same "thu-thump. Thu-thump." I flailed around and grabbed anything I could, I was screaming again. Stop, stop, stop! I tried to open my mouth and say but the screaming overpowered any words I could muster. I thought I felt something touch me but I didn't dare open my eyes. I wasn't the only one screaming now, and I heard loud growling in the background as well. My hearing started to fade... like I was being dragged into a body of water. Slowly fading into a deep pool of silence.. My breathing slowed. "Jasper, burn the body." I heard in the distance. "Emmett...carry her to the house."  
Then...darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Unheard Voices

**2\. Unheard Voices**

"She's...she's already starting to wake up?" I heard a girl say as I stirred. It sounded muffled as though she was behind something or in another room. I was laying down in a bed. It smelled like a mixture of dust and honeydew. There was a burning/tingling sensation throughout my whole body. It was bearable, though. My throat being the worst of it. Almost as if I had swallowing menthol, or peppermint but without the relief of the taste of mint.  
The jiggle of a doorknob interrupted my thoughts then, with the sound of a door creaking open slowly. "Her heartbeat...it's slowed but..this-this doesn't make any sense." A man whispered. What? Was I supposed to be dead? "Carlisle, she can hear you." The same girly voice from earlier said. "Sweetie? Are you awake?" She said, the sound of footsteps coming near me. I took in a deep breath, pretending to just now wake up and I rubbed my eyes. "Hello," she said, I felt the bed sink down near my knees. She must have sat down. "How do you feel?" I sat up slowly, without opening my eyes and continued to rub the sleep away from them. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted as other footsteps entered the room- suddenly becoming a little shy and scared at the soundlingly large audience. Keeping my head down to avoid eye contact, I stared at my hands. They looked an unhealthy shade of pale...but everything was super clear. I felt like I could see every strand of thread in the fabric. Every line of skin in my fingerprints. Everything was as clear as the best high definition sight you could possibly have, but multiplied by a million. "Don't worry, I changed your clothes," the girl assured me. What? "You lost a lot of blood on them," Blood? "We thought you'd be more comfortable in-" she gasped, stopping mid-sentence and hopped off the bed. I had looked up and made eye contact when she stopped talking. There were six people in the room. They were all extremely pale and beautiful, with bright eyes that were either golden or topaz, brown shades in between. The woman who had talked to me a few seconds ago had black hair, but she had a choppy pixie cut. She was short, almost like a pixie herself. There was a man beside her, blonde. He was tall and mature, he seemed the oldest out of them all. There was also two other woman. Another blonde, probably the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. And a redhead woman with shoulder-length hair. She was beyond stunning as well, she stood close to the other blonde male. I was speechless... They were all beautiful. And then there were the last two. Both guys. One with dirty blonde curls and the other was a super muscular brunette. He reminded me of a modernized human-version of The Hulk.  
But something was off, as they looked at me like I was some kind of monster. All of their eyes were wide and startled but then changed to confusion. Most of them each frantically looking at me and then the blonde man- like he was the leader.  
I opened my mouth to speak but clutched my throat, the burning sensation was getting worse by the minute... "Emmett, you said her eyes were blue when you carried her here?" The tall blonde man asked, turning to The Hulk. "Yeah, when I laid her down I checked. They were crystal blue." My breathing quickened. So what? What's wrong with my eyes? "It's almost like the red only shows halfway through her human eyes, which is why they're this purple color." Why did he point of the word human? My eyes were purple? "Her heart's still beating. Slower than average, but beating. Her skin isn't as pale as ours, but paler than when we found her. Her eyes are only half newborn. And yet, she's awake? Carlisle have you ever seen anything like this before?" The curly haired boy said, he had somewhat of a southern accent. I couldn't piece together what was going on. Where am I? I couldn't remember anything. I opened my mouth to speak once again but nothing came out. I clutched my throat. Tears welled up in my eyes, because of the pain but also because of the stifling fear that was creeping on me. Everyone still looked at me with horror, but lightened with concern. "Can you talk, sweetie? Why can't she talk Carlisle?" The red haired woman said. The blonde man's expression was a mixture of worry and confusion." I've seen it in humans…even those cases were rare, though. I saw it more often a couple decades ago. Can I see you try to talk again, dear?" He asked gently. I wiped my eyes and opened my mouth to speak. My lips moved, my tongue moved, breath left my mouth...but nothing. Still no sound. I clawed at my throat again. The burning was starting to be all I could think about. The man sighed and looked at me with concern. "Sometimes, when someone is severely traumatized, they can temporarily lose their voice," he explained. "It often seems to be caused by nothing more or less than intense grief. The only cure is in the relief of the cause, I'm afraid. Your voice will only return when you calm down and relax. There is a chance, of course, that this is some adverse reaction to your transformation, but that seems highly unlikely, to me. I've never heard of the conversion having any such side-effects, and I've certainly never seen such a thing, myself…" He slowly put his hand on top of mine while still looking at me to make sure I was okay with the gesture. "Whatever happened to you in your previous life must've been difficult, but you're safe with us now. You will always be safe in this household...Jasper," Carlisle turned to the other blonde male with the hint of a southern twang. I was comforted by the kind mans words and felt random waves of relief but confusion and fear still rang clearer. So many questions still clouded my mind. "I don't think we can take her hunting like we originally planned for when she woke. I'll just give her something from the storage units. But first, what are you picking up from her?" "A lot of confusion, worry, the usual, Carlisle. What do you think?" The man named Jasper said, clearly frustrated himself. I wondered if he was frustrated at me.  
"I wish Edward was here to tell us what she was thinking. But this will have to do for now," the pixie woman said as she walked over to me and handed me a pad of paper and a pen. I didn't hesitate to write down all the questions that were flooding through my mind. What does newborn mean? Why are my eyes purple? Am I supposed to be dead? Why don't I remember anything? Why does my throat burn? How does this guy "pick up" how I'm feeling? Who's Edward? And suddenly I was flipping through the pages trying to fit in more. I handed the paper back to the girl when I was finished with the fourth page, thinking we'll just start from there. She scanned through it and handed it to Carlisle. He nodded and took the notepad from her hands. "Alright everyone, if you would be so kind as to exit the room...I think we should have this chat in private." It dawned on me then as everyone left the strange room, Carlisle didn't say my name.  
I couldn't remember my name.  
I couldn't remember anything.


	3. Chapter 3: Answers

**3\. Answers**

Carlisle POV:

I sighed as I shut the door and made my way down the stairs. Although the strange girl lost her voice, you could still manage to hear little sobs escaping from the room. Everyone else in the house had the same reaction when I had to explain the transition and new life to be learned but this time was different. I had no idea what was happening to this poor girl. I had never seen this happen before in my 300+ years. "Is she gonna be okay?" Esme asked me, meeting me halfway down the stairs. "I sure hope so. I'm gonna have to do some tests and see if I can get any identification on her. We'll have to know where she used to live so we can watch out for the people who will be searching for her. I don't think she should leave until we know what's going to happen why it is happening in the first place... And with her voice gone as well...It's so hard to determine what will happen from here. This whole situation is just unheard of, even for our kind. It's what we thought was impossible happening right before our very eyes." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry, darling, but you'll have to excuse me. I need to go to my office and just rethink all of this. I have to make calls and just..." I sighed and kissed her cheek without finishing my response. I wasn't acting like my usual self, but I didn't have the strength to hide it. For the first time in a long time, I wished I could sleep and figure this all out later.

Jasper POV:

Esme came downstairs, silent- knowing we had all heard what Carlisle had mentioned to her. We were all frightened for the girl. She looked like she could have only been about 16 years old or so...I sent Emmett and Rosalie out to pick up groceries. Alice suggested that if her eyes were a mixture of newborn and human, then everything else would be as well. Including her appetite. Some of us tried to object but with her skin color less pale than ours and her heart still beating, we didn't have a lot of evidence to debate with. Normally we could rely on Alice just by her seeing how things would unfold but her vision was fuzzy with this newborn still….if that's what we could even call her.  
Besides, it was worth a shot. I called Edward as well and he's on his way to see if he can get any information from the girls thoughts. I suggested he'd bring Bella to see if our new family member could resist the urge for human blood, but he didn't want to take any chances. I didn't try and argue with him for too long, knowing the subject was touchy. Alice was on her cell phone, also calling other vampire family members to see if they had ever heard of such a bizarre case. She didn't have any luck yet. The only thing we really had to worry about was if the girl would survive and the Volturi. They already were keeping a close eye on us to be sure Bella transitioned soon. Who knows how they'd react to this…  
A car roared up in the driveway and parked in the garage, interrupting my thoughts. Edward rushed through the front door and raced up the stairs.

 _Edward, be careful._

Girl POV:

"Are you going to be okay?" Edward asked me. I nodded my head and sniffled. I sat up in the bed and smoothed out my hair. _I bet I look like a mess._ Edward chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You look fine. Would you like to meet the family?" _Family._ I took a deep breath, absorbing the word. Carlisle explained what was happening to me and why everyone in this house looked so pale and beautiful...well, as best as he could. He told me that he didn't really know what was going to happen and if anything else would happen to progress my transition but it seemed like I was half human and half of a newborn vampire. He told me that they all drank animal blood though, instead of human. That they were the good guys. At first I didn't believe it all, but as I listened closely to only hear my own heartbeat in a house of six other people, I had no choice but to accept it. Carlisle said he had no idea what could make the transformation suddenly stop halfway through the process, unless there wasn't enough venom in my system when I was bit, but even so that shouldn't have mattered. That that theory didn't make sense. Carlisle got a little flustered during that part, curious and frustrated at my dilemma.

Edward said that Carlisle would have to do some tests to see what's going on in my body. I wished I could remember what had happened but Edward wasn't there when they found me and didn't ask anyone, even though that was the question now dominating my mind.  
Edward explained to me that everyone in the house was unique in their own way. Edward could read minds, which is what Esme had mentioned earlier. Alice can see into the future. She didn't see me until I was already in trouble, and I'm still foggy in her vision apparently, but I still thought it was cool. The Cullen's have family friends who also have special abilities. He said that I could possibly have one, but it would be more unlikely than a normal newborn's chances. So I shouldn't get my hopes up. I nodded and took his ice cold hand as he helped me out of the bed. I stumbled a little but I managed to gain my balance so Edward didn't need to carry me down the stairs or anything silly like that.  
Edward chuckled. _What?_ I said in my mind. "Nothing," he laughed again "You just remind me of someone," _Who?_ I wondered. He ruffled my hair and opened the door. "After you," I scrunched my eyebrows in frustration that he didn't answer me, but obeyed and walked out into the hallway anyway. I was greeted by white. White everything. White walls, white carpet, white trim, white flowers, white, white, and more white. It was all beautiful. I stopped dead in my tracks, mesmerized by the plain beauty of the house. Suddenly I heard a swoosh of wind and the Hulk man appeared in front of my eyes. "Hey! You're up on your feet!" Shocked, I found myself halfway across the hall, crouched and ready to pounce, growling. The sound coming from my throat startled me but my gut reaction told me to not stop. "Emmett, you know better than to startle a newborn." He paused "Well technically she isn't a normal newbie, we all don't know how to react here, dude." The Emmett guy said with his hands up. I grabbed at my throat, feeling this animal-like sensation in me rising. I needed to get rid of this burning. How? _Someone just make it go away._ I heard myself growling still, I was shaking with anger. I was ready to pounce.  
"Well damn. She looks like a vampire to me," Emmett said, smirking. A cold hand grabbed mine, making me jump. It was Edward. "Hey, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. Not with me around." The red animal haze started to fade from my vision but I was still shaking. My whole body screamed at me like there was danger nearby. I realized I was still growling and clamped my mouth shut. "I say we take the little killer hunting." Emmett said, still grinning. Edward sighed "Emmett, you know that's not a good idea," "Sure it is!" He yelled as he walked closer to us both. Anger filled my gut once again. _Get. Back._ I wanted to shout at him. _Please..._ I begged as the frightened human side of me wrestled to surface. "Emmett, stop." Edward said for me, knowing my thoughts. He stopped dead in his tracks and so did Edward and I. Someone was coming upstairs and they were waiting to see how I would react.  
"Emmett stop poking the bear." The pixie voice said. As soon as I knew who it was, she was already at the top of the steps. Alice. "One, she can't go hunting in an t-shirt and nothing else." I looked down. Yeah, I was wearing a huge t-shirt as a dress. "And two, she doesn't have to go hunting because food is waiting for her downstairs." I swallowed the substance that filled my mouth and clutched my throat. Edward told me earlier that the substance was venom.

Burning. _It burns._ I groaned in pain, falling to my knees. My chest and throat were on fire. Suddenly I was being carried and after a gust of wind, I was instantly sitting in a wooden chair. There was a single glass of red substance. It smelled sweeter than anything I'd ever smelled before. And before I knew it, my lips were already pressed against the cup. The sweetness running down my throat, healing the burning fire that seemed to just never go away. The liquid was sticky and warm. I could feel it swimming in my stomach. I opened my eyes as I angled the cup higher and higher but it was already empty. Just as I was about to scream for more, I saw that was another glass waiting, filled to the brim.  
I chugged it immediately. It tasted less and less sweet as I drank more. I was calm again, though agitated that I let this animal inside me takeover..

As I got to the middle of the glass, it started to taste more copper-toned. My throat wasn't burning hardly at all anymore though, and that was enough to keep me drinking, just out of excitement, almost like I was thankful for the strange liquid and drinking more out of respect.

I made it to the last quarter of the glass when I had to give up. It tasted like pure rust. It tasted like...blood. It hit me then.  
"I just fucking _drank_ _blood_." I whispered. I gasped and covered my mouth, startled by my own voice. It was hoarse and scratchy but I didn't care, I talked. I heard muffled chuckles behind me. I turned around and saw 14 gold eyes looking directly at me. And then suddenly the whole house was filled with laughter. I couldn't help but laugh myself. Emmett was practically rolling on the ground from laughing so hard. "This is wonderful!" Carlisle said suddenly next to me. He placed a sheet of paper on the counter and started writing. "Your heartbeat slows and you become more animal-like when you go without blood. Like a normal newborn. But when you drink, your heartbeat comes back and you calm down. Your skin is even less pale now that you've eaten."  
"Wait," I interrupted, I cleared my throat to prepare my unused vocal chords for this long question ",but my heartbeat isn't like a normal human being. I'm not back to normal. Is it gonna take a long time for me to go back?" I looked around at the eyes, searching for answers.  
"No darling. I'm afraid this is permanent. We don't know why you ended up like this but it's not going away." Esme said. So that was that? I was just stuck as this hybrid vampire? "But we already love you as our own and want you to stay." I started getting angry. "You _love_ me? You don't know anything about me!" I said. Tears formed in my eyes. "All you know is that I'm some weird creature that you don't want on the loose! You want me to stay here so you can just study me like I'm some kind of lab rat!"

"That's not true," "No way, not at all," I heard all around the room. They made excuses about how they'd take me in with open arms. They want to 'help'! I was downright sobbing now. My emotions were spinning from one side of the spectrum to the next. Just as fast, I was in a lock-tight hug with Esme. "Why don't I remember anything," I said in between hiccups and gasps for air. "I'm so scared,"


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting Strangers

**4\. Meeting Strangers**

Girl POV:

"I'm pretty sure this is the best lasagna in the entire world," I moaned with my mouth full of this oven lasagna someone bought at the store for me. Alice laughed, "Well good, we can get it for you whenever you want," she said as she continued brushing my hair. Carlisle was still taking notes. "So you can eat normal human food when you're done drinking. You can survive off of both. And you can cry like a human being as well. 50/50 once again. Alice how long is her hair?"

Alice brushed my hair smooth and pressed it against my back. "Well this morning it looked like it was 2 and a half feet but now it's grown about 3 inches...It's only been about 7 hours and it's grown so fast," I paused and stopped chewing, still slightly anxious and weirded out by this entire situation.  
"But that means we're gonna have fun. I'm talking makeovers every single day, baby girl. Stick with me," She patted my shoulders to try and comfort me and continued to brush my hair. I slowly turned back to eating. I knew she just said that to make me not freak out.

Carlisle was just writing away. He was up to 5 sheets of paper now, front and back. "Carlisle, what is all of that you're writing?" I asked after swallowing a mouthful of lasagna. "Just observations. Are you getting thirsty yet, dear?" The burning was there and intensifying about every 15 minutes or so. But it wasn't too much for me to handle. "No, not yet. I'm still okay for now."

Suddenly Emmett and Jasper barged in the front door with two bags. "Wuddup, killer! We got you the good stuff!" Alice chuckled and Carlisle just smiled. I smelled the blood and my mouth started to water. "Well..." I gulped. "Maybe I could use a glass." Alice stopped brushing and squeezed my shoulder before she walked over to the bags. "Already? Jeez, purple, don't hurt yourself!" Emmett joked. "Purple?" I asked aloud. Emmett pointed to his eyes and then me.

Oh. I forgot. "That's right!" Carlisle said suddenly. "Dear, may I look at your eyes? They may have changed over the course of a few hours as well." I put my fork down and turn my chair facing him. He had a little flashlight pointed in my eye, just like a doctor would at an eye exam.

I heard Alice in the background, helping the boys put the rest of the blood away and then getting a glass for me. I had to hold back a growl as I thought about all that blood traveling further and further. I wanted it now.  
Focus! Focus on the light. You'll get your drink soon...I swallowed the venom that was trying to overflow. "What..." Carlisle muttered. I looked past the flashlight into his eyes. "What just happened? You're eyes went from one shade to a darker shade and then back to the first...all in a matter of seconds." Everyone looked at me. What? I didn't do anything... "Did you smell something? Or feel something? Get scared?" I looked around. "Um..I thought about eating..but then I tried to calm myself down and focus on the flashlight..." Carlisle smiled. "Of course! When your instincts come in, your eyes change to that dark shade. Like ours when we aren't able to feed for a few weeks. Yours are instantaneous though. And Alice! Alice, measure her hair again." Alice zipped over and measured my hair. "It just grew half an inch." I grabbed my hair.  
Even though I had a few dark spot in my vision from Carlisle's bright light, I could see that it was a chestnut brown with streaks of dark brown and copper toned browns. All the browns you could imagine, you'd find it on my head. Everyone was silent, holding their breath to see if I'd freak out or not. "Whoa," I whispered, thinking about everything. How many particles of dust I could see in the air, how it felt like I could feel every slight bump and ridge from every surface, how many colors I could find in my family members eyes, how I felt like I could smell for miles. Everyone laughed. Jasper suddenly walked over with a glass of red goodness in his hand and handed it to me. I took a big gulp, feeling like I could take on the world. Something was buzzing then in someone's clothing. Edward pulled a cell phone out of his jacket. "Bella," he said, sounding relieved. "You left the phone...I'm sorry, did Jacob drive you home?" I heard a female voice on the other end. I didn't make out words but she sounded agitated. "I'm on my way. What's wrong?" Edward pointed at the front door as he started walking out. Signaling his goodbye. "What happened?" Edward said before the door slammed shut.  
"Who's Bella?" I asked. "You'll meet her soon," Rose said, sounding a little cold. "She's here all the time." I looked at Alice. "You'll like her. She's amazing." Rose huffed as she walked into one of the other rooms in this huge mansion, while Emmett followed quickly behind. Jasper followed as well and a few seconds later I heard bickering between the two about some video game.  
"Is she a vampire too? How come she doesn't live here with you guys?" The other three exchanged glances. "She's not one of us...yet. Edward and Bella fell in love, but it happens to be that Bella's a human. He found his mate." Alice smiled. "Mate?" I asked. I only heard that term when people talked about animals. Edward told me about the Volturi and how there were certain rules. Was dating a human being allowed? How could that work out if you couldn't tell them you're a vampire? I was so confused. "Mhm. And one day you're gonna find your mate too. Maybe he'll be a human too." She winked as I laughed. "Yeah right." I cupped my hands around my mouth, "Step right up, taking bets now, to view the dangerous, extraterrestrial, purple eyed vampire hybrid teenager!" the crowd will go nuts I'm sure." I heard Emmett chuckle from the other room while Alice just rolled her eyes. I lowered my hands and continued eating. "Oh c'mon, you haven't even seen yourself yet." I continued to tease her. "Is it that bad? I don't know if the monster should look in a mirror just yet. I might go in a rage." My mood was suddenly very easy going. I was being sassy but somehow I was feeling more and more comfortable here.  
Alice scowled, grabbed my hand, and started to lead me to the stairs. "Oh wait!" I tried to quickly grab my lasagna but she was too fast. Suddenly we had zipped in and out of the room. Now that I was calm and used to it, I could actually see Alice running. She wasn't just here and then gone the next second. She was still fast, but I could see _her_ instead of just a flash of dark material moving like the speed of light. For a second I had a moment of deja vu but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Here!" She said, holding out a bag. "When Jazz told Emmett and Rosalie to get you food, they got you a pair of clothes too. I don't know how _fashionable_ Emmett is, but I'm sure it's better than you staying in that t-shirt." I laughed. "Thank you. Thank you for everything. Everybody." Carlisle and Esme were no longer in the kitchen but I heard replies from all over the house. "No problem dear," "We want you to be comfortable and safe," "Anytime," "YOU'RE PLAYING WINNER, PURPLE," Emmett shouted. I giggled and heard a smack and a slight 'Owww" escape from Emmett's mouth as well. Alice hugged me tight. "I know this is all happening really fast, for us all, and you're more than welcome to decide what you want to do in time but... I always wanted a little sister." I clutched her tighter.

"Hey, what's up?" I heard an unfamiliar girls voice downstairs before Alice and I turned the corner to the other hallways. Alice froze, something was being said that she needed to hear. I tried to listen but my hearing wasn't as good. I could only make out voices, not words. "What's going on?" I asked, snapping Alice out of it. She smiled, a little too big, and grabbed my hand again. Leading me down the maze of halls she hurried me to one specific door. "Here's your new clothes. I'll cut your hair later if you want but only on one condition, you take a bubble bath and relax. Okay? You've been through a lot today. Take _as much time_ as you need." She practically threw me into the white marble bathroom and pressed some buttons on a small black box that lived in the corner where a lightswitch would typically be. It started playing music throughout the room and I noticed the small speakers on the ceiling.  
Alice zipped throughout the room faster than I've seen from anyone all day. Turning on the water, putting in bubble bath soap, lighting candles, and setting out the clothes. All in a matter of seconds. She gave me one last look, with the same wide suspicious grin, and then shut the door. I heard Alice zip down the hall and staircase. Whatever was going on downstairs, they clearly didn't want me a part of. I stood there for a second, trying to establish what I was feeling now that I was alone. I couldn't tell if it had hurt my feelings being shut it here suddenly, away from whatever was downstairs, or if I was grateful to finally have a moment where I could just try and feel...human?  
I sighed and stripped off the t-shirt, turning around I turned face to face with a floor length mirror. I stared at a girl who looked about 16 or 17. She had wavy chestnut hair that was a little longer than her mid-backside, parted in the middle, as though she were a mermaid. Her skin was a pale ivory color. She had no freckles, just a tiny embellish on her right cheek, right below her eye. Her eyes...they were a pastel violet until you got to the edge of the iris, where they were a bright eggplant shade. She was skinny, yet curvy. She was beautiful.  
I touched the mirror, not believing that this was a reflection of...of _me_. My thoughts were startled when I heard Emmett's booming laugh faintly from outside. I smiled at myself. I felt safe, I felt like even with all of todays news and events….that I was going to be okay.  
I pressed the lever to stop the bath water. I stepped in and leaned back. I wondered if I could sleep. Edward told me a bunch of random vampire things earlier, them not being able to sleep was one of them. Them sparkling _also_ being one of them...whatever _that_ meant. I pictured Edward going into the sunlight and sparkling like someone had bedazzled him with cliche crafting jewels and then Emmett coming up next to me and saying "Oh yeah, we do that too," I chuckled. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. I wondered how everyone else changed to be the vampire they were today. Who were they before? What were their stories? What were their futures? I remembered the burning. The slight burning that just lingered in my throat being all throughout my veins and remaining there like I was it's prisoner in my own personal hell. Hearing the water slosh around me, I imagined the water cooling off the burning sensation. The water dancing around my joints. Feeling the water slightly rock me side to side, like it was singing it's own lullaby. Singing me to feel safe and welcome. A loud bang made me snap open my eyes. Standing up out of instinct, the water sloshed and spilled out of the side of the tub. "What the..." I said aloud. No one else was in the bathroom with me. Maybe I was just dreaming. Maybe I fell asleep. But...it almost felt like a gun just went off inside of my head...almost like a dream or a memory? My anxiety slowly started to increase along with my breathing and I decided I needed to talk to Carlisle. I still had questions and suddenly didn't like feeling alone anymore. As fast as I could go, I hopped out of the tub and pulled up the drain. Not even looking at what Alice had for me to wear, I threw it on and ran to the door. I threw my palm on the handle and turned. A _snap_ jerked me backwards, a jagged chunk of wood broke off, along with the handle. I slowly set it down on the floor. I looked at my hand in shock, scared at my own strength. My anxiety only worsening.  
Not allowing myself to even think about the fact that _Alice locked the door_ , I swung open the remaining wood and ran downstairs. Well _leaping_ would be more accurate. "Carlisle!" I yelled as I pushed through the door I heard his voice lingering from. I assumed it was his office. "I-" I froze then.  
There was a girl sitting in Carlisle's chair. She had very dark brown hair, more dark chocolate than mine. She had brown eyes as well, I could see them clear as day with her eyes so wide. Carlisle was frozen as well, he had been wrapping the girls hand up in something, a bandage of some sort. Her skin was pale but tan compared to Carlisle's shade. She was wearing a hoodie, making her hair pool over in a messy but neat fashion. My eyes fell on her neck. I could see her pulse racing through her veins even from this distance. "You're Bella," I said, breaking the silence. I smiled, even though I felt Emmett and Edwards sudden appearance and grasp on my arms. They held me up so my feet didn't touch the ground, so I had no chance of escape. "You're the one that Edward loves so much," I looked up to Edwards face. His eyes that were burning with fear due to me being so close to a human suddenly melted into an emotion that I couldn't quite pinpoint. Almost like he looked proud?  
He chuckled and used his free hand to ruffle my hair.  
I stiffened as her scent hit me then. Her blood smelled sweet like honey, and yet had a lavender hint to it. I imagined the sugary thick drink swimming down my throat. But I snapped myself out of it then. Bella was important. Bella was a _human being_. I suddenly felt disgusted with myself. How could I want her so bad? How could I be such a monster? I swallowed the venom that tried to overflow from my mouth. "Well I can see what all the fuss is about," I said nonchalantly, breaking the silence and masking my horrid thoughts. Carlisle smiled at me, as if to say "Good job! I'm so impressed that you managed your instincts." I smiled back at him as best as I could. "You must be the new addition to the family that Edward told me about," Bella said. Her voice was soft and chirpy, but strong. I nodded my head, really smiling now. "What's your name?" My smile suddenly faded. I snapped my arms out of Edward and Emmett's grasp too easily. I didn't stop to think or to explain. I was shocked at my sudden burst of emotion but I just found myself running until I realized I shut the front door and was standing outside in the pouring rain. The coldness felt good on my face and helped me have the courage to unleash my tears. Why couldn't I just remember? Why couldn't I at least have a name? Why did I- My thought process stopped then. A single strike of lightning and thunder boomed a few miles off, but startled me with the intense blur of sudden white. And I swear, for a moment it looked as if there was a dark figure standing only about 5 feet in front of me.  
I gasped. It all hit me then.  
Memories of my attack, before my transition, flooded back painfully fast and intense. The running through the forest, the menacing laughter, the glowing red eyes, the screaming. My knees gave out. My vision started fading into darkness. The last thing I remember seeing was the night sky peeking out from the storm clouds and the moon.


	5. Chapter 5: Tan Faces

**5\. Tan Faces**

I woke up a few hours later in what looked to be the same bedroom as when I woke up the first time after my transition. The house was so huge, I wondered how many rooms they had in total.  
The room was dimly lit. A digital clock on the nightstand to the left of the bedside read that it was 1:41AM in big red numbers. I looked under the bed sheets and saw that I was wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts. The shorts were navy blue, the t-shirt being a turquoise. The colors comforted me. They made me feel less pale and unnatural, less of a hybrid freak. I covered up with the blanket once again, welcoming the warmth they brought. The material was soft and fluffy. I didn't want to leave just yet. I didn't want to face the memories I had earlier of my attack or fact that my new life was me being a horrible beast fighting not to kill.  
Even though my eyesight was perfect without it, I leaned over and turned on the lamp that sat beside the clock. Not a second after, a subtle knock tapped on the white door. The walls were a nice champagne color with a slight golden pattern trim. The bed was bleached white with a deep reddish brown head and footboard. The back wall had no windows or lights or anything. It was merely a wall of solid glass, showing the pitch black forest the house lived so close by. A chill ran down my spine as the person outside the door knocked again. Sighing, I muttered a quick "You can come in". I was a little surprised to see who it was. "Hey, Rose." I said, sitting up against the white poofy pillows the bed also came with. "Hi," the gorgeous blonde smiled at me. "Is it okay if I come in?" She asked, I automatically nodded. "Of course, yeah, heck yeah it's your house," It was obvious that I was intimidated by her. I snapped my teeth shut and she just giggled. "Here, you probably need this." she handed me a glass of blood. I could feel my own blood starting to pulse with excitement but I made sure to keep myself in check. I made sure I didn't spill on the fancy bedspread. "Thank you," I said when I reached the bottom of the glass. She only nodded, staring at her hands. "I know how you feel, you know," she said finally after a few moments of silence. I didn't respond. "How you're confused and disgusted with yourself." My eyes widened. How would Rosalie know that? She was so gorgeous and perfect. How could she possibly have hated herself in the past? "And as much as I dislike the little human girl, Bella wanted you to know that she feels really bad about what happened earlier. Edward mentioned everything to her except for the fact that...you know..." she didn't have to finish her sentence. Guilt rung in my gut. "Ugh, she probably thinks I'm crazy now." I sighed. "No, it's Edwards fault. She shouldn't have even been here, not with a newborn living here now." Her tone was ice cold.  
"Why don't you like her? She seemed nice to me. Everyone else looks like they enjoy her company." Rose then took in a deep breath and continued to tell me about her past and how she transformed into the vampire the was today. How she had everything and anything but had her future ripped out from beneath her. How Bella had a choice and she was choosing wrong. I couldn't help but agree a little inside. Although I couldn't remember what my past life was, I don't know if I would've necessarily chosen to be in this constant blood-thirsty state. But I could also see where Bella was coming from with her standpoint of being in love with Edward and this family. Rosalie and I talked for what seemed like hours.

A week passed and I grew fonder and fonder of the Cullen household. Emmett and Jasper took me hunting while Alice and I would do little tasks like go to a small tourist shop around town just to see if I had the strength to resist other humans. Bella was around sometimes but only for a few moments. Edward didn't want to push my limits. I didn't have any accidents yet, but my emotions were still raging.

"So how come I don't get thirsty for my own blood?" I asked Carlisle one day. It didn't seem like he was shocked at the question but more surprised that I had come up with it on my own. "Unfortunately my dear I don't have an answer for that one," Maybe it was self preservation, mind over matter. Why would I be thirsty for my own blood when that meant hurting myself? But curiosity got the best of me one day and I bit my own wrist. The familiar burning sensation quickly startled me and made me stop before I even started sucking but there was a little bit of blood on my teeth. Carlisle just stared at me wide eyed and silent. I closed my mouth and instantly regretted it. It tasted like medicinal but bitter and sour at the same time. Edward nearly broke the kitchen island from laughing too hard when he saw that in Carlisle's head.

Alice quickly filled up the closet in the guest bedroom I slept in. Well, _my_ bedroom technically but it was still weird getting used to saying that. Next to the closet there was also a small bathroom, filled with sand colored towels and all the hair styling tools you could imagine. Alice also tried to stock me up on make-up.  
"Alice, how the hell do you even use this thing?" I asked as I picked up the weird contraption. "That's an eyelash curler. You just place it here and squeeze," she demonstrated for me and it took me everything not to smack that horrible torture device away from her as soon as possible. "C'mon, let me show you,"  
I broke a few doors that night.  
My hair was down to the middle of my butt now. Carlisle suggested a haircut but Alice refused. Saying she would kill for her hair to be that long and that it was "the perfect length". It only annoyed me, so it almost always stayed in a braid or ponytail. My eyes transitioned from the purple to a strong green. The others have golden eyes due to the animal blood, but since mine are a mixture of my human eyes and vampire eyes, they changed into this bright lime color. "It'll definitely help you fit in better," Esme noted when she was rummaging through the kitchen. She insisted on cooking me something instead of just popping something premade from the supermarket in the oven. "Yeah, it'll let everyone stare at me and say 'There's the freak with the glowing green eyes!' " I grumbled, Esme filled the room with her bell-like laughter. "Oh, they aren't even that bad. It's a beautiful shade, it looks natural on you. Besides, would you rather have purple eyes?" I bit my tongue on that last note. She was right.  
"Whoa, you mean to tell me that there's..not only vampires, but _werewolves_ and _witches_?" I asked as Edward tried to explain all of this to me in the best way possible. "Well, the werewolves are actually shape-shifters. And not witches, casters. They think the term witch is a bit rude." I slumped back in the grey chair that sat in the living room. "And Bella punched a werewolf, er, shape-shifter in the face? And that's why her knuckle is broken?" Edward chuckled and nodded as I recalled our first encounter when Carlisle was wrapping her hand. "Your girlfriend's a badass."

Are you gonna be okay?" Esme asked while she leaned on the door frame to my bedroom. "I feel bad leaving you up here alone while everyone's downstairs for Bella's grad party." I shook my head before she finished her sentence. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I don't want to push my limits," I lied. I knew I would be able to handle myself if I decided to go tonight. I had a full stomach of mountain lion and had more stocked in the mini fridge Carlisle insisted on me having in my room. I just didn't want to go tonight because I knew everyone would already be on edge from visiting the infamous Cullen house, but to then see the new "adopted" girl when I looked like some freak? No thanks. My eyes weren't like neon green or anything, but they were definitely bright. Besides, being the new girl is never fun. Bella knew that first hand, so she helped me convince the family. She tried to pull the same card but Alice wouldn't have it- it was her fricken party after all.  
"Well if you decide to come downstairs, Carlisle and I will stick around the kitchen." Alice suddenly popped right next to Esme. A box full of floral decorations engulfed her arms while twinkly lights wrapped around her neck like a scarf. "You may have gotten out of the ceremony and the party, but you are definitely not getting out of helping me set up,"  
When everything was sparkly, flowered, lit, hung, stapled, baked, and placed, Alice gave me permission to leave. I was about to ask if there was anything else I could do but I heard a car door slam outside and I didn't hesitate to bolt upstairs. "Oh! I left something for you in the closet!" Alice said before I made it to the other set of stairs, I looked back in confusion but the front door started to open and so I turned back around and ran. It was probably Edward and Bella but I didn't want to take any chances.  
I shut the door behind me, my back pressing against the hardwood. I sighed in relief. I wanted so badly to just be back in the real world. Words could not explain how much I wished I could just march downstairs and just pretend for one night that I wasn't some freak of nature. I wanted to feel normal again. For my biggest worry to just be whether or not I'd pass a chemistry exam or not, like all the rest of the teenagers in the world. But I felt like if I went down there and let anyone take one look at me...they'd be running for the hills. I stepped over to the mirror that hung on the nearby wall. I sighed and ripped the ponytail holder out of my hair. I looked over to the closet. I didn't really care what fancy party dress Alice bought. I knew though that if I didn't at least open it and admire her choice, she'd pout for the rest of the night. I walked over and opened the wooden doors. On the floor lay a small box with a red satin bow on the front. I looked for any designer or brand names but the box was blank. It looked too small to be anything for tonight. I placed the box on my bed and opened it, ripping off the bow and plastic wrapping, I then saw that it wasn't a dress or blouse or any type of clothing, but a cellphone.  
I immediately starting unfolding the plastic covering that held the chargers and extras. I pressed the power button and laid back in the mountain of pillows my bed held. It confused me when I realized that...I remembered things like the internet and cell phones yet I specifically remember not knowing specific things that were popular right now. I remember being confused when family members tried to talk to me about modern movies or music and I had no idea what they were talking about. It was almost if someone programmed basic ideas and trends in my brain and made me entirely blank out on others. Like I obviously knew how to use the bathroom or cook, but yet the small black boxes around the house that controlled music and lights or the thermostat threw me for a loop.  
It's so frustrating not knowing where I came from and how I was-A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I looked at the digital clock in the lower right corner. I didn't even realize it, but an entire hour and a half had passed with me just looking at the blank phone screen. I was lost in my thoughts. "Come in," I said. I hoped it wasn't Bella trying to come and convince me to be tortured along with her. I looked in the doorway when the white wood finally opened and did not expect to see what stood before me.  
His skin was a rich golden tan, glistening in the slight light the desk lamp gave off. He had small goosebumps on his forearms. His eyes were almost as black as his hair, which was standing tall in a messy "just rolled out of bed look". He stared at me with wide eyes, but they didn't look frightened or freaked. I couldn't help but stare at him right back. He was breathtakingly gorgeous. I snapped back when I remembered how weird my eyes must look. I quickly scooted off my bed, trying to act as humanly as possible. "Um, can I help you?" I asked, clearing my voice. He shook his head slightly, as if he was trying to clear his thoughts. Did I really look that freaky? I looked down and instantly wished I was wearing something other than a plain hoodie and jean shorts. "Um, sorry. I was just looking for a bathroom." I panicked internally. Did someone send him up here because I was the only one in the house that actually used toiletries and the restroom? Was it so we'd look as real as possible because I had actual human props?  
Before I even really thought about it, I just spit out words. "Oh, you can just use mine." I said, pointing to the slightly cracked door to the right of my bed. "Thanks," he quickly said as he scooted pass me and into the large bathroom. He smelled like honey and forest trees, but also had a hint of...almost...wet dog? I'm not sure. It was definitely a musk and I couldn't tell if it was appealing to me or not.  
I quickly, but vampire slowly, tried to clean up around my bedroom. O _h god, he probably thinks I'm some huge slob_. I scolded myself as I cleared the clothes on the ground and the cardboard box from Alice's gift. I shoved it all into a ball and chucked it in the closet. I had just closed the doors as I heard the bathroom door unlock and open. "Thanks again. Your house is huge and all the bathrooms downstairs were taken. I'm sorry if I intruded," he apologized. I started shaking my head before he finished his sentence. "No, no, don't worry about it. You're a guest. It's no problem at all." I smiled at him and found myself staring again when he smiled back. I thought he would quickly leave but yet we just both stood their, smiling.  
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and suddenly a dark figure passed the doorway before stumbling back and looking angry at the guy, the _gorgeous_ guy, who just used my toilet. "Well I see you've met the newest leech." I was taken back as the dark figure stood in my room. He was about half a foot taller than the Calvin Klein model next to me. He also had dark tan skin and black hair. His eyes were brown. "Excuse me?" I said, instantly furious. One, what did he mean by leech and two, how the fuck do you come into someones house and insult them like that. "C'mon, Jacob, I just had to use the bathroom." Jacob Black. Jacob the werewolf that Bella punched in the face and broke her knuckles for? Of course. That's the only way he'd know I was a vampire. "It's whatever, we need the bloodsucker downstairs anyway. Emergency meeting. C'mon, Seth," I looked at the gorgeous being. His name was Seth. It suited him perfect-  
A hand suddenly grabbed my wrist and I didn't hesitate to grab the attackers elbow and flip him over my shoulder so he'd slam on his backside. Jacob laid there, out of breath and shocked. I flipped my hair out of my face and got down as one knee as I leaned down and put one forefinger on his chest as he breathed heavily, trying to regain feeling in his lungs. "Stop messing with us Cullen girls, Jacob Black," I spat in his face. "First you kiss one without permission and now you try to push around a newborn? I thought _werewolves_ were smarter than that." I got up with ease and walked out to the staircase.  
"Dude, why didn't you do anything? You just stood there watching!"  
"Wow," I heard Seth sigh.


	6. Chapter 6: When the Wolf Howls

**6\. When the Wolf Howls**

"So, you going to Forks High next year?" Thankfully, before I could reply with some lame response he continued to talk to himself. "I mean, not like you're just now going to high school, you definitely can't be a freshman or anything. At least you don't _look_ like a freshman. How old are you? No, no, let me guess, you're a junior this year? Well, senior now that it's summer." The boy who introduced himself as Mike Newton babbled on. "You barely touched your drink, I promise I didn't spit it in or anything," He joked. I looked down into the plastic cup that was half filled with a pink juice. I hadn't taken a single sip of it. I only accepted the drink because, well, it was sweet of him. I was flattered, but I also just didn't want to be rude. "Sorry, I'm just looking for Al-my sister," I replied, my eyes still searching the audience. Some people stared at me. Okay, a lot of people stared at me. Some tried to be polite and looked away when I made eye contact, secretly looking again when my eyes shifted somewhere else. Though most of them made eye contact and just continued to stare on. I heard many whispers starting off with "That new Cullen girl," I was trying my hardest to bury the anxiety bubbling in my stomach. The only thing keeping me down here was Jacob's "emergency meeting" conversation he mentioned upstairs.  
"You don't look like the rest of your family. I mean, of course you're adopted but still. Where did you live before? Hey, do you wanna hang out sometime?" Suddenly I saw the guy from earlier. Bathroom wolf boy. "Nice meeting you," I said, not even looking at Mike before I handed him my cup and started walking towards the werewolf. For a second it looked like he was glaring at something but his eyes relaxed when he saw me walking towards where he stood. "Hi again, um, have you seen Bella or Alice?" His eyes seemed to brighten and for a second it was hard to breathe. He was so stunning it hurt. Really hurt. Was that normal for vampires? God, nothing about me was normal.  
"No, but I saw your parents in the kitchen." I almost slapped my forehead. Why didn't I remember Esme telling me that earlier? "Oh yeah! Thanks...Um, Seth was it?" I asked, remembering the Jacob kid calling him that earlier. I was slowly walking backwards into the kitchen. He nodded and smiled. "Oh, um, what's yours!" He said, I continued to back up further. I merely waved and then turned around and speed-walked into the kitchen area. _Believe me, I wish I knew what it was too_.  
I was comforted by the sight of Carlisle and Esme. "Hey, look who came downstairs!" Esme said, surprised but happy. Her and Carlisle were helping dish people's plates. I smiled at the strangers who stared wide-eyed until I reached Esme and Carlisle. I grabbed Carlisle's arm gently and tried not to panic "So some werewolves barged into my room and told me to come downstairs because of some emergency meeting?" Carlisle stopped and looked me in the eyes to see if I was serious or not. "I'll go find Alice," he murmured after a few seconds. I grabbed his spoon and took his place next to Esme. "I'm sure everything's fine, sweetie." She tried to comfort me. What bothered me though was that something happened where the werewolves needed to be involved. And considering Alice was nowhere to be seen, it meant she probably saw something.  
"Hey! You forgot your drink," Someone said loudly, entering the kitchen. I helped the person in front of me and then saw who it was who shouted. Mike.  
It took everything inside of me not to roll my eyes. "Hi...you." I grabbed the plastic cup from his hands and set it down on the table. "I'm sorry, I can't talk. I've been put to work," I said, hoping he would get the hint. "Oh! Well here!" He grabbed a plate and stood in front of me like an excited puppy. I slopped a spoonful of whatever food was below me and smiled as best I could. "Okay, there you go," I said, hoping he'd leave. "So you left before I could ask you something, and what was your name again?" I frantically thought of some random name just to say to people tonight. It didn't seem like that question would stop anytime soon. "Wait! That wasn't the question I was gonna originally ask you. Haha! But anyways-" "Mike, I have to talk to you later, I have to help out here for a while okay? So unless you want more-" I looked down to see what I was actually serving to these people. "-mac and cheese...I'll see you later, alright?" He just held out his plate towards me further. I scoffed and threw the spoon down. "I'm gonna go try and find them," I told Esme. "Okay, dear," she smiled at me funny, feeling sorry for Mikes horrible attempts at socializing. I walked out of the kitchen and got lucky. Bella was standing in the middle of the staircase with Jacob, Seth, and another tall tan guy. Probably another werewolf. I shuffled through the crowd of people and hurried to Bella's side. "Bella!" She looked at me with scared wide eyes. "Oh perfect! Why don't you tell newbie here what's going on, Bella?" "Jake stop!" My look of concern quickly switched to confusion. "What?"  
"Yeah, Bella, you won't tell us the truth. Maybe you'll tell it to your newest beloved leech." "Jake!" I tried not to get angry with so many people surrounding, including Seth, but after the way he spit out those words made me want to rip him apart from limb to limb. I was get sick of this douchebag _real fast_. "Remember who's property you're standing on, _pup_. I'd watch your tone if I were you." I didn't wait to watch his reaction or let him get a comeback in. I turned around and focused my attention on Bella. "Bella, what's going on?" She sighed "I didn't want to tell you just because you've been through so much already...but I think something big is going on..." Her eyes scanned the room. "Alice!" She said with relief. I followed her gaze and saw Alice already walking towards us. She saw the three werewolves leaning over us and she quickened her pace, her face filled with stress and fear. When Alice was finally at our side, she whispered into Bella's ear "I need to talk to you," panic was slowly but surely setting in. What the heck was going on? What were they keeping from me? I had noticed something was off with everyone recently but... I guess everything was just happening so fast. I didn't really think too much of it. Jesus, I felt stupid and selfish.  
"Tell us what's going on," Jake growled, snapping me back to reality. He slammed his hand against the wall, blocking our exit as Alice tried to leave the room with Bella. Alice stared up at him in shock. "Excuse me?" Jasper suddenly was next to Alice and then standing on the other side of Jake's arm, his expression terrifying. The not-so-tough-now pup slowly pulled his arm back. Which was smart if he knew what was best for him. "We have a right to know," Jacob muttered, shifting his glares towards the four of us. Jasper stepped in between them and they all braces themselves. "Hey, hey," Bella said in a high pitched voice. "This is a party, remember?"  
"Okay, what the fuck is going on!" I said a little louder than expected. Jacob glared at Alice while Jasper glowered at Jacob. Alice's face suddenly relaxed with a sigh. "It's okay, Jasper. He actually has a point." Jasper didn't relax. "What did you see, Alice?" Bella asked, grabbing her arm softly. Alice stared at Jake for one second and then turned to us both. "The decision been made." Decision? "You're going to Seattle?" "No." I had stopped breathing at this point. Bella seemed extremely pale. "They're coming here," Bella choked out. "Who?" I asked. The wolf boys watched the three of us silently. "Who!?" I sternfully asked again. Bella's and the boys hands started shaking. "Yes." Silence. "To Forks," Bella whispered. "Yes." "For?" Alice nodded, some secret I guess the two of them understood. "One carried your red shirt." My heart stopped for a second.  
"Someone broke into your house? Someone like...us?" I asked, gesturing towards Alice, Jasper, and I. Bella and Alice nodded, still silent. Jasper chimed in then "We can't let them come that far. There aren't enough of us to protect the town." "I know," Alice said, her voice monotone and her face suddenly blank. "But it doesn't matter where we stop them. There still won't be enough of us, and some of them will come here to search." "No!" Bella whispered, tears forming in her eyes. I was still so confused. Why would a vampire break into Bella's house for her shirt? Was it the Volturi? Edward made them sound more like royalty. Why would they break into Bella's house for her shirt when they would just want to kill her? This didn't make any sense. I sighed in annoyance, partly at my ignorance to what was going on and because the music seemed to be only getting louder and the people around us were laughing and shouting, completely unaware to the world they were truly living in. "Alice," Bella said, I could barely hear her voice. "I have to go, I have to get away from here." "That won't help. It's not like we're dealing with a tracker. They'll still come looking here first." "Then I have to go meet them!" Bella hoarsely shrieked. "If they find what they're looking for, maybe they'll go away and not hurt anyone else!" "Bella!" Alice protested.  
"Hold it," Jacob said in a low forceful voice. "What is coming," Alice rolled her eyes as she turned her attention on him. "Our kind. Lots of them." "Why?" I chimed in. "For Bella. That's all we know," she said, sounding desperate for help and relief. "There are too many for you?" Jake asked. Jasper spoke then, noticing Alice's stress. "We have a few advantages, dog. It will be an even fight." Jacob had a huge grin then spread across his face. "No. It won't be even."  
"Excellent!" Alice hissed. "Everything just disappeared, of course," she said in a sudden smug voice. "That's inconvenient, but all things considered, I'll take it." "We'll have to coordinate. It won't be easy for us. Still, this is our job more than yours." "I wouldn't go that far, but we need the help. We aren't going to be picky." Alice said. "Wait, wait, wait, wait," Bella interrupted. Both Alice and Jake's faces beamed with excitement. While Jasper and the other werewolves looked a little questionable. Alice and Jake suddenly looked at Bella with impatience. "Coordinate?" Bella repeated through her teeth. "You honestly didn't think you were going to keep us out of this?" He asked. "You _are_ staying out of this!" "Your psychic doesn't think so." "Alice! Tell them no! They'll get killed!" Jacob, Seth, and the other wolf laughed out loud. "Bella," Alice said, her voice more calm than it had been all day, "Separately we could all get killed. Together-" "It'll be no problem," Jake finished her sentence. Seth laughed again. I couldn't help but try not to stare at him. He was staring at me too, I quickly moved my eyes back to Alice, trying to keep up with all of this.  
"How many?" The third one asked. "No!" Bella shouted.  
"It changes - twenty-one today, but the numbers are going down." That couldn't be the Volturi then... "Why?" Jacob asked, genuinely curious. "Long story," Alice said, suddenly looking around the room, remembering where we were and that a party was still actively going on around us. "And this isn't the place for it." "Later tonight?" Jacob pushed, seeming really excited. "Yes," Jasper answered for her. "We were already planning a...strategic meeting. If you're going to fight with us, you'll need some instruction." I gulped at the thought of us fighting with anyone...and the thought of meeting with vampire-hating werewolves in the middle of the night. "No!" Bella moaned, knowing she was out-voted for this. "This will be odd." Jasper continued. "I never considered working together. This has to be a first." "No doubt about that," Seth agreed. Jake seemed to be content now. "We've got to get back to Sam to tell him about all of this. What time?" "What's too late for you?" Alice asked. All three wolves rolled their eyes. "What time?" Jacob repeated.


	7. Chapter 7: Drowning on Air

**7\. Drowning on Air**

While cleaning up the (now) trash-hole we called our house, Alice and everyone filled me in on everything. James, Victoria, Laurent, the Volturi meeting in Italy last year between Edward, Bella and Alice, how everyone left Forks when Bella and Edward broke up when there was an accident involving Jasper...they told me everything. I got a chance to ask my questions and they tried to answer everything they could. They still had no idea who was after Bella and that it was highly unlikely that all of this was the Volturi's idea. Like I had thought, the Volturi wouldn't have gone so far with their plan to kill Bella and Alice would've seen them by now in her visions. It made no sense that the Volturi would be making a newborn army. It would drive unwanted attention towards our...species.  
"Well...tonight should be interesting." I said, changing the subject while still filling my trash bag with empty cups and plastic silverware. "That's for sure." Emmett laughed. "It'll be nice to learn how to fight a werewolf though. I have a feeling it won't be the first time I'll feel the need to chuck that Jacob kid against a cement wall." Everyone stopped what they were doing. "Except you aren't going." Rosalie said, stern. "What?" I said, genuinely shocked. "Honey, you are not going to be fighting in this. You're half human, sweetie. You could really get hurt." I dropped the trash bag that was nearly half full on to the floor. " _What!_ " I repeated, louder. "Awe, c'mon. I think it would be funny to see Purple wrestle a few dogs." Emmett chimed in. "Hell yeah- thank you!" I said. Rosalie snapped her head at Emmett with fire in her eyes. "Or not..." he muttered, looking at me apologetic. "Well...she is technically a newborn still. She's stronger than all of us right now still, even if she is half human." Alice said, sounding like she was thinking out loud more than telling anyone. "We really need everyone we got in order for this to work out in our favor." Jasper agreed. I nodded and smiled at Esme, hoping she would change her mind. "I don't like the idea of her fighting either but I don't think we really have a choice. I think all we can do is properly prepare her and train hard."  
"Jasper's right, we need everyone on deck." Carlisle said, wrapping his arm around Esme's shoulder. Esme sighed in defeat while Rosalie sighed in frustration. As happy as I was that I was gonna learn how to properly kick ass...I was still terrified for the war that was inevitably coming. Not knowing who was after us and why...it made no sense to any of us.  
After everything was cleaned up and properly febreezed, _man, teenagers are gross_ I went upstairs to change. What do you even wear when you're gonna be in a forest at 3am learning how to properly fist fight? I sighed and walked over to the bathroom. I flipped on the lights and turned on the faucet to wash my face. I could slightly smell Seth's scent. He obviously hadn't actually used the bathroom. Maybe he was embarrassed to actually use my "facilities". I held back a giggle. But I was confused... the werewolves earlier said that this was their job more than ours. Like, they were created for this stuff. Were their jobs hunting vampires? Jasper said this would be the first time that werewolves and vampires would be working together. But if werewolves and vampires are some kind of natural born enemies, then how were Jacob and Bella able to be so close? I know Edward left a while back...but that was for her protection. _So one kind of creature left town and she settles for the next best thing?_ I thought, but instantly felt bad and was thankful Edward wasn't home to hear that. As confused and kinda ticked as I was, I had to keep an open mind. Besides, Bella being friends with these wolves would now probably end up saving all of our asses. _If they didn't betray us anyway…_  
My thoughts went back to Seth. The way he looked at me...was intense. I splashed some water cheeks and rubbed some on my neck as well. I needed to focus on learning tonight instead of some stupid boy.  
I hoped the coldness would clear my mind. Seth, if anything, was probably just spying on me. Seeing if us Cullens had any tricks up our sleeves or if having a party with a newborn in the same household was a good idea. Which would explain why Jacob was on his heels. He would've protected him if "the newest leech" tried anything. I suppressed a snarl. _They don't even know me._ I growled inside my head. I patted my face with a towel and tried to calm down, though now I felt super ready to kick a wolf in the face. Suddenly a huge booming sound came from downstairs. "C'mon, Jasper, you totally just cheated!" I heard Emmett yell downstairs. "Boys, take it outside!" I heard Esme shout, sounding like a true mother. The thought of Emmett and Jasper wrestling like brothers calmed me down. I smiled at the thought actually. We weren't monsters. We could be if we wanted to...but we weren't. "We're the good guys." I remember Carlisle telling me after I had woken up and we spoke privately.  
I took a deep breath and walked over to my closet. I was extremely thankful that my hormones had calmed down since my first day being awake from my transformation. God, I was the definition of an angsty teenager. Carlisle had said every emotion would be heightened and harder to suppress but...man, I hated myself for a while. I was extremely thankful that every day became easier. Everyone told me it would but it was hard to believe them... I still didn't remember anything from my past life, I still didn't have a name, and I still had no idea where I came from. But it was easier to accept now. Alice had a talk with me too about how until a few years ago, she had no idea where she came from either.  
I had a family and, for all I knew, it was more than what I had before my vampire life. Carlisle still did research on me but he also got better at just accepting it. Answers would come to us with time, if we even wanted answers at that point. We still never found any police reports that matched my description, there was no news of my being missing from anywhere or anyone, and Carlisle never found a match when he took a sample of my DNA and sent it to labs (perks of being a friendly and rich doctor) for testing. For all we knew, I just fell out of the sky that one day. And though I don't know who was chasing me in the forest or if their own coven would ever come back for me, I was finally becoming content with myself and this life with the Cullens.  
I yawned, just now realizing how tired I was but I wanted to be there tonight. I needed to support my family. And besides, maybe I didn't even really need sleep that much since I was half vampire. After scanning the closet for a few minutes, I decided on a dark gray tank top and plain black leggings. I threw on some running shoes, and tied my hair in a high ponytail.  
I thought about attempting to mimic Alice's makeup tips that she showed me a while ago but I knew I would get sweaty tonight and I didn't want to try and then fail and end up looking like a circus clown. I took a deep breath and decided that this was as good as it was gonna get. I glared at the "eyelash curler" contraption. "Another time, devil device."  
I made my way downstairs to see Emmett and Jasper through the kitchen window, slight thuds and vibrations moving the ground as they continued to wrestle. Esme and Carlisle were at the kitchen table. Esme reading a some book about eating and praying and Carlisle was on his laptop. Everything seemed so normal. So good.

Seth's POV:  
At three am on the dot, we arrived where the Cullen's had told us to meet them. It looked like a private baseball field. Private because, well, it was in the middle of nowhere. It was on the outskirts of town and hidden away surrounded by Washington forest. Most of the Cullen's were already here...including her. Everyone in the pack was pissed and confused as to how I could imprint on a Cullen...on a vampire... and I don't know how or why, but I did. This new Cullen family member...whatever her beautiful name was, I still didn't know...I imprinted on her. I loved her, even though I didn't even know her.  
" _You what?!_ " Edward yelled, silencing everyone. He had heard us before everyone saw us. Suddenly, me and her made eye contact. Her beautiful green eyes were still piercing, even if we were in the dead dark of the night. Her eyes widened, along with her mouth, making a beautiful and sexy "O" with her lips.  
 _You are disgusting. How in the fuck could you imprint on a vampire._ Jacob spat at me. I ignored him as best as I could. Being able to communicate through our thoughts when we were in wolf form was a blessing and a curse... "Edward, what's wrong?" Carlisle asked. "Things just became a million times more complicated..." He hissed. She didn't seem to be paying attention, still staring at me in shock. "They're _huge_." She whispered to the big buff one next to her. I think his name was Emmett. "No one told me they were...Jesus, they're as big as horses." She continued. _No shit, Sherlock._ Jacob continued. I turned to growl at him. I heard her gasp but I didn't stop. "Edward what's wrong," Bella whispered softly. I wondered why they brought her along, surely she wouldn't be fighting.  
"Wolf hormones." He muttered, bringing me back to attention. They continued to whisper back and forth but not about me or my wolf hormones. It was about the newborn army and some girl named Victoria. "Damn," The Emmett guy (if I'm right about his name) said under his breath. "Did you ever see anything like it?" The red haired wife of the doctor and the blondie exchanged a wide-eyed glance when we came better into their view. "What is it?" Bella asked, even more quiet than before. "The pack has grown," Edward answered for her. Yeah, there was ten of us now. "Fascinating." Someone whispered.  
Everyone's thoughts were suddenly silent. Waiting to see what the next move was. "Welcome," the blonde doctor said, Carlisle. _Thank you._ Sam responded in his head. "Thank you," Edward "translated" for his family. _We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control._ Edward repeated the words. "That is more than enough," Carlisle answered. "My son Jasper-" he gestured to where the other blonde vampire stood, tensed and ready- "has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style." _They are different from you?_ After Edward translated, Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new- only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you - we are already at an advantage and it shouldn't be difficult. The number may go down still, the new ones fight amongst themselves."  
 _That's it? C'mon, we could fight all twenty by ourselves._ Jacob said.  
 _That'll be much easier than we thought. It's a very well thought out plan._ Sam responded respectively.  
 _I still can't believe we're gonna be working with them but... oh well. It means less of a threat for all of us._ Another member of our pack added to the conversation  
 _We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary,_ Sam boomed, capturing our attention and silencing us again. Carlisle smiled and even Edward sounded less indifferent now. "We'll see how it plays out." _Do you know when and how they'll arrive?_ "They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path." _Thank you for the information. We will watch._ With our minds more at ease with a plan, we one by one sat down to watch the vamps play fight. It was silent for two heartbeats, and then Jasper took a step into the empty space between our two teams. Vampires vs. werewolves. He sighed, and threw a wary glance toward Edward, who then nodded, and then Jasper turned his back to us. He was clearly uncomfortable. "Carlisle's right." Jasper spoke only to his family, seeming to ignore there were ten vampire fighting wolves behind him. "They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get your arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively, Emmett?" "No way, Purple goes first. She's an actual newborn." So I was right about his name, but I suddenly wanted to bite his head off when he pushed her into the circle of attention with Jasper.

Girl POV:  
 _Emmett, I'm going to kill you._ I said in my head, wishing for two seconds that _he_ was the one who could read minds. "Are you comfortable with this?" Jasper asked before going any further. I looked at Edward who was smirking and nodded once. I looked back to Jasper and shook my head yes. "Try not to break anything, Purple." Emmett muttered. I had half a mind to just start attacking Emmett instead of Jasper. "Focus," Jasper grinned. "Newborns rely on their strength. They're very straightforward about the attack. They won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, darlin." Jasper backed up a few more paces, his body tensing. "Just yell out if it's too overwhelming." I tensed as well, giving into my animal side. "Same for you, cowboy." And I couldn't see Jasper anymore - he was almost a blur as I charged for him. But as seconds passed, my vampire side strengthened. I was only milliseconds away from him when suddenly he would disappear again. After chasing and grabbing and growling for a few more seconds, just when I thought I had him, he managed to pin me down to the forest ground. I cussed in frustration. There was a muttered rumble of appreciation from the watching wolves. "Again," I insisted. Jasper's smile faded, along with silence from the wolves. "You're bleeding," Once he said the words, I smelled it too. It was a weird smell, coppery like normal blood but there was something else that I couldn't put my finger on. I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad smell...it was just...weird. I tried to get up and automatically felt the pain. It was in the exact same place in my back when the red eyed vampire threw me against a tree in the forest not too far away from here... Nothing had penetrated, no sticks or anything, but all of a sudden it felt like all the bones I had broken that one day were broken all over again. I couldn't help but scream from the pain. It slowly set in and then suddenly hit me all at once. _What the fuck!_ I screamed in my head. "Oh my god, Edward carry her home," Esme ordered. Edward grabbed me and tried to carry me bridal style but as soon as I felt my head lift from the ground, my stomach churned. Turning the other way so I didn't blow chunks on him, everyone gasped. It wasn't just vomit, there was blood. Lots of it. I could smell it. "Carlisle, you need to take her to the hospital. You don't have the equipment here that you need and she needs help, Carlisle now! Please!" I felt like I didn't have any control over my body. "Her spine..." Bella whispered, her voice frantic. I wanted to wipe my mouth of whatever vomit remained but I was losing consciousness fast. The sandy colored wolf was suddenly next to me. I knew as soon as I saw those soft brown eyes earlier, the light beige werewolf was him.  
 _Seth_ was my thought before I was engulfed in the darkness. 


	8. Chapter 8: Snow, Sand, and Puke

**8\. Snow, Sand, and Puke**

"I think that you're going to want to pack for cold weather, Edward. I can't see where you are exactly because you're taking off with the dogs this afternoon. But the storm that's coming seems particularly bad in that general area. It's definitely going to snow on the mountains," I heard Alice say behind my bedroom door. There was no response before she cracked open the door to check on me. "You feeling up for these next two days?" We both knew that there was no other option. I think we were all just happy that my injuries didn't happen during the midst of the fight. "Let's go hiking," I said, trying to smile as best as I could as I slowly sat up from the sheets. "Whoa!" She rushed to my side to see if I needed help. "Slow. Okay? Slow." Everyone was treating me like some fragile flower that was only minutes away from withering. Thankfully my vampire side healed my broken bones after that night. Slowly, but surely. We still didn't have any idea what was wrong with me, Carlisle was especially frustrated by that. No matter how much blood I drank, I only became weaker as the hours went by. My bones managed to heal properly but from Carlisle's scans at the hospital, my bones were unnaturally weak and fragile. Which was why they broke so easily when Jasper pinned me on the forest floor. Jasper...he could barely look at me. I didn't blame him for what happened at all, and neither did anyone else in the house. We all knew he would never try to hurt me and everyone saw the fight. He was super careful the whole time. He thinks that he's the reason I suddenly couldn't keep anything down in my stomach but it doesn't make any sense. And I didn't want to come to terms with it before but I really hadn't felt so good since before Bella's graduation and the party. I thought it would pass but time only made it worse. And now that I was so malnourished and weak, I felt worse by the hour. "You sure you don't need me to help fight a few newbies off?" I joked, trying to punch the air. My hand made a pathetic fist and then slumped back onto the bed sheets. She chuckled. "Hell yeah," Emmett laughed, appearing by the door frame. Rosalie and Esme were behind him. "That's our girl," he added.  
Carlisle, Jasper, Edward, and Bella were probably in the garage gathering all the supplies. Since I was put on bed-rest, I would have to join the sidelines with Bella and Edward. Jake, Edward, Bella, and Seth would be up in the mountains. Two other wolves would be protecting La Push, the wolves' reservation, and everyone else would be in the forest, far from us, fighting. But now since I couldn't fight, I'd be up in the mountains too, waiting for the purple smoke signalling the death of the newborn intruders. "Are we sure this is a good idea? What if the cold or the elevation just makes it worse. Maybe we could talk to them...she could hide in the reservation. Or even just stay here, they wouldn't really attack the house, would they?" Rosalie said, only half speaking to me. "No, she needs someone to take care of her. And you know they wouldn't let any Cullen step foot on their grounds. Even in her case. The best thing for her is to be with Edward and the wolves. It's better communication and they could carry her to safety if something were to happen.." Esme said, but her words didn't sound like her own. "She's right..." Emmett agreed and for the first time since I met him, he was serious. Everyone was in business mode. We only had a few hours before we would be packed and out of the house, preparing for battle and whatever injuries or casualties (me possibly...) that would come out of it. "Don't be thinking like that now," Edwards voice said, walking through Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. He had a small backpack and a marshmallow coat with fur across the hoods lining. I didn't have the strength to argue with him and I didn't want to distract everyone else with the thought of me dying. They had enough to worry about. "Jeez, you're just as bad as Bella sometimes." He smirked. "Bella called Jacob and Seth, they'll be here soon. You know the plan, right?" I nodded as best I could. Jacob was going to carry Bella to the mountains to try and hide her scent. Seth would then carry me, not only to hide my scent as well but just because I didn't think I would be able to walk anywhere, let alone hike up a mountain. Edward would be going a different way. He would meet us at the camp site where we'd be spending the next two days waiting for this all to be over. "We packed blankets and a bucket for you, just in case." Good. I had a feeling I would need it. Though I hadn't eaten anything in 29 hours, I was still puking my brains out. "Let's try to get you into something warmer, okay?" He helped me sit up better and carefully swung my feet around the bed. Layering me up in sweatpants and socks, then a sweater and the huge puffy looking jacket. I was sweating before he even started putting on the socks. "I might need that bucket soon," I warned. These next hours were gonna be tough…  
"Where are we meeting Seth and Jacob?" I asked, trying not to close my eyes and fall asleep in Edwards arms as he carried me outside, Bella walking alongside us. The wind was picking up and whipped my hair around but the fresh air and the cool breeze felt nice. Edward was careful not to rock me too much. "Right here," He gestured to the trees in front of us just as Jake and Seth stepped warily from their shadows. As soon as I saw Seth's worrying face I remembered how gross I probably looked. I could practically feel Edward rolling his eyes. "There had to have been a better way to do this." He muttered. "Too late now," Bella said back.  
"Hey Jake," Bella greeted them when we got closer. "Hi, Bella...whoa, she looks horrible," My eyes widened and I whipped my head back into the safety of Edwards chest. I felt his grip tighten slightly. "Could you stop being rude to them for five seconds?" Seth snapped. I wanted to jump out of Edwards hands and just crawl back into the safety of my bed. _Just kill me now..._ I couldn't help but think. Edward pulled me closer to his chest like a hug. "I'll rip his throat out when all of this is over," he whispered into my ear. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Not if I do it first," I added.  
"Where exactly are we taking them?" Jacob said, ignoring our comments. He was all business. Bella pulled a map from a side pocket on the pack and offered it to him. Jake unfolded it. "We're here now, " Edward said, reaching over to touch the spot while still balancing me perfectly. Jacob recoiled from his hand automatically, and then steadied himself. Edward pretended not to notice. "And you're taking them up here," Edward continued, tracing a serpentine pattern around the elevation lines on the paper. "Roughly nine miles." Jacob nodded once. "When you're about a mile away, you should cross my path. That will lead you in. Do you need the map?" "No, thanks, I know this area pretty well. I think I know where I'm going." Jacob seemed to be struggling with the polite tone. "I'll take the longer route," Edward said. "And I'll see you two in a few hours." He stared at us both unhappily. He didn't like this part of the plan.  
"See you," Bella murmured. Edward carefully put me into Seth's open arms and I tried not to puke with the juggling and sudden movement. Seth wasn't as fluid or smooth as Edward was. I looked up at Seth and saw he had been staring at me. "Your eyes are darker then they were a few days ago." He noted. I didn't know what to say. Edward faded into the trees, heading in the opposite direction. As soon as he was gone, Jacob turned cheerful. "What's up, Bella?" he asked with a big grin. "Same old, same old." She said, obviously already missing Edward. She didn't like this part of the plan either. "Yeah," Seth agreed. "Bunch of vampires trying to kill you. The usual." "The usual." She agreed, smiling. She eyed me, making sure I was okay. I nodded and she relaxed a little. "Well," Jake said "Let's get going."  
Making a face, Bella took a small step closer to him. He bent down and swept his arm behind her knees, knocking them out from under her. His other arm caught her before her head hit the ground. "Jerk," she muttered. He chuckled, turning towards the forest and running through the trees. Seth followed at a slower pace but we could still see them in front of us. He kept a steady pace, a brisk jog that a fit human could keep up with...across a level plane...if they weren't burdened with a hundred-plus pounds as he was. "We don't have to run. You guys will get tired." I said as loud and as best I could. I wondered if they even heard me. "Running doesn't make us tired," Seth answered for the both of them. His breathing was even - like the fixed tempo of a marathoner. "Besides, it will be colder soon. I hope Edward gets the camp set before we get there. I know you're probably struggling and we don't want to make this trip torturous." He looked down and me, smirking. I didn't know why but I felt super comfortable with Seth. He was being so polite and (trying his best to be) gentle. "Notice how we haven't seen any animals?" I looked around but looking at the blurry forest made my stomach feel worse. "Um, not really. Alice was worried about the storm too though." It looked like he nodded but I wasn't sure. "It takes a lot to silence the forest this way. You guys picked a hell of a night for a camping trip." "It wasn't my idea. I wanted to fight." He went silent, so I decided not to say anything more on the subject. I snuggled closer to his chest and closed my eyes. The pathless way we took began to climb more and more steeply, but it didn't slow either of them down. They leapt easily from rock to rock, not seeming to need their hands at all. Their perfect balance reminded me of a mountain goat. Jacob and Bella continued talking but Seth and I remained silent. I really wanted to just sleep and get this over with as fast as possible. Not the being with Seth part...the mountain climbing part. I'd be so embarrassed if we had to stop just so I could vomit. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my breathing. It didn't take me long to go under.  
"When are you finally going to figure out that you're in love with me too?" I heard Jacob say when I was waking up. "Leave it to you to ruin the moment." Bella responded. "I'm not saying you don't love him. I'm not stupid. But it's possible to love more than one person at a time, Bella. I've seen it in action." "I'm not some freaky werewolf, Jacob." I rubbed my eyes and took in a deep breath. "Look who's up," Seth said quietly, smiling. I was shocked at Jacob's blunt words. It all made sense now, and was almost painfully obvious to me now. That's why he has such an attitude with Edward especially...he's in love with Bella.  
"Are they always like this?" I asked, still trying to wake up. It was like a soap opera with those two. Seth's nose wrinkled. "What's wrong?" "We're not far now, I can smell him." Jacob announced, clearly talking to us as well as Bella. I heard her sigh in relief. I looked up at the sky, noticing the sun's rays were weaker than before I fell asleep. A solid wall of purple-black cloud was racing in from the west, blacking the forest beneath it as it came. "Whoa," I muttered. Jacob and Bella began arguing about something else but I tuned them out. They bickered like an old married couple. "They bicker like they've been married for 50 years," Seth joked. "I was just thinking the same thing," I chuckled. But then regretted agreeing with him, feeling guilty for Edward by putting his girlfriend and another guys name in the same sentence with "married" involved. I wondered how much he knew about Jacob's feelings...and how did Bella feel for Jacob back? She obviously was still friends-just then, the wind shook more fiercely through the trees around us, and the intense cold temperature made it feel like it was blowing straight off a glacier. The sharp sounds of wood cracking echoed off the mountain. Though the light was vanishing as the grisly cloud covered the sky, I could still see the little white specks that fluttered past us. We stepped up the pace. I curled up to Seth more, now repeating in my brain _I will not throw up, I will not throw up, I will not throw up._ It was only minutes later that we dashed around to the left side of the stony peak and we could see two little tents nestled up against the sheltering face. More flurries were falling around us, but the wind was too fierce to let them settle anywhere. "Bella!" Edward called out in acute relief. We'd caught him in the middle of pacing back and forth across the little open space. He flashed to our sides, sort of blurring as he moved so swiftly. Jacob cringed, and then set Bella on her feet. Edward ignored his reaction and caught Bella in a tight hug. "Thank you," Edward said over Bella's head to Seth and Jacob both. His tone was unmistakably sincere. "That was quicker than I expected, and I truly appreciate it." Jacob merely shrugged, all the friendliness wiped clean from his face. Edward retrieved me from Seth's grasp. "Uh oh," I said...I felt the chunks making their way up. Edward raced me over to the tents where he had the bucket he mentioned earlier. It was halfway buried into the ground so it wouldn't blow from the harsh wind and spread the mess everywhere. "Get them both inside. This is going to be bad - my hair's standing up on my scalp." Jacob said, all three of them making their way over here. Jacob looked and sounded uncaring. "Are the tent's secure?" Seth asked, genuinely concerned. "I all but welded it to the rock." Edward said, holding up my ponytail and brushing the stray hairs away from my face. "Well...am I the first to get a vampire flu?" I asked, feeling better for a few seconds until my stomach started disagreeing with me again. "I don't think this is some kind of vampire illness, love," Edward said, all joking put aside. A small shiver escaped down my backside as I swallowed what he meant. "I know." I sighed.

"What t-t-t-time is it?" I asked after wiping my mouth of any remaining vomit and trying not to bite my tongue off from my chattering teeth. "Three," Edward answered. Bella's chattering teeth settled down after Jacob went into the tent to keep her warm. I felt bad for Edward. It must've been torture. "It is. Not being able to help her in need...it's the most frustrating thing in the world." I nodded _And it doesn't help with his attitude. I've wanted to punch that mutt in the face more times that I can count on my hands and toes combined._ I thought. Edward chuckled. "You have more layers on than Bella and even you're still shivering...maybe Seth should come in here and I'll keep watch until the sun comes up." I heard Seth whine outside, letting us know he was nearby if we needed him. The thought of Seth coming in here and basically spooning me...if I wasn't freezing and puking up a storm, I would probably be blushing. _I'll be okay. I can manage for a few hours. Besides, I know how much you hate these guys._ "No, I hate _one_ of these guys. Seth's been very polite to us and our family...and, don't forget that I can see into his mind. I know what he's thinking. I would know if it was sincere or not." Edward went on, it seemed like there was something else behind it. I couldn't help but silently agree with him. I had my doubts in the beginning but Seth was really proving himself to be kind and sweet….and charming, and funny, and- I stopped myself. Getting embarrassed quickly.  
"Will you be okay if I go back to Bella's tent?" He asked, looking back to the puke bag. I nodded and handed it to him. He really was prepared. I would owe him big time if I ever got through this. He smoothed my hair and smiled before unzipping the tent and leaving to return to Bella's side. The sudden gust of wind made me shiver harder. Seth climbed in anyways, even though I said I'd be fine, still in wolf form. He managed to zip the tent back up with his teeth but it took a few seconds. He laid down beside me and I automatically felt the warmth radiating off of his skin and fur. I snuggled closer to him and started to finally calm down. My muscles relaxed. I was so exhausted and malnourished, I felt like I was going loopy. Seth sniffed my face and sneezed. I couldn't help but laugh. "S-s-s-sorry, p-p-puke breath," I apologized. I snuggled further into his side and breathed him in. He kind of stunk... I sneezed then too. After having a fit of the giggles, I yawned. I was going to pass out soon. Suddenly, I felt Seth's head lay down and relax next to mine. He sighed a deep breath, like he felt more comfortable by my presence too.


	9. Chapter 9: Clashing Metal

9\. Clashing Metal

I woke up in a cold sweat hearing Bella and Edwards tent shake loudly. Growling erupted from all around. Seth rose on all fours, wide awake to see if there was danger. Snarls ripped through the plastic tents. Seth quietly growled too, waiting to see what would happen. Has the fighting already started? Did a newborn end up finding our trail? "Is it a newborn?" I whispered to Seth. He looked at me and calmed down, shaking his head in a dog way that looked like a 'no'. He nuzzled his head against my cheek before looking up again and perching his ears up to hear better. The growling sounded familiar- were Edward and Jacob the ones growling?  
I remembered last night, how Jacob was going to sleep in Bella's sleeping bag so she didn't freeze to death. The dots started to connect. I took a deep breath and curled up again in the blankets. I wasn't ready to get up just yet. I wasn't feeling nauseous so far (which was a miracle in itself, considering the last and first thing I would do between sleep was vomit) but I was feeling especially weak and sore. I didn't have the energy to even think about sitting up. "Stop it, stop it!" Bella yelled, "Stop it, now," silencing them. Seth continued to growl softly. "Jacob? Are you hurt?" "Of course not!" Jacob hissed defensively. _Darn._ I said in my head without thought.  
"That wasn't nice. You should say sorry." Bella said, sounding like a mother of two siblings who were fighting over a new toy. "You must be joking - he was crushing you!" Edward yelled in disgust. "Because you dumped him on the floor! He didn't do it on purpose, and he didn't hurt me." Edward groaned. I could only imagine the glare he was giving Jacob. "My apologies, dog."  
"No harm done," Jacob said, a taunting edge to his voice. They continued to talk/bicker when I almost fell back asleep. Seth whined softly then, looking at me, to the zipper, and then back at me. The zipper was stuck. I chuckled. "You know, I don't think I've ever had a dog." I joked. He huffed and rolled his eyes.  
"Drag my sleeping bag by the zipper, I think I can get it." I said. He bit softly on the end of the bag, carefully not to bite my hair or accidentally whip me across the tent with his super wolf strength. I raised my arms out of the warm comforting blankets and automatically shivered. My fingers were skinny and extremely pale. As soon as I raised my hands over my head, I was short of breath and exhausted. _What's happening to me,_ I begged for an answer. I managed to pull down the zipper a little and Seth was able to pull it down the rest of the way with his teeth. The air was still unnaturally cold but it was nowhere near as bad as last night. I curled around the blankets once more, exhausted. I wondered how much longer it would be until my family would be fighting for their lives.  
Before I could even think about getting a time estimate from Edward or Seth, the silence outside the tent was ripped apart by an ear splitting howl of pain. The sound ricocheted off the bare rock face of the mountain and filled the air so that it seared from every direction. "Seth?!" I yelled, almost sounding normal. Adrenaline started kicking in. _Did someone get hurt? Had they already started fighting?_ The howl choked off into a peculiar gurgled sob, and then it was quiet again. "Your space heater has reached his limit," I heard Edward say in Bella's tent. _That was Jacob? What the hell just happened?_  
"Truce over," Edward added. Bella started crying and fighting with Edward quietly. No...not fighting...blaming herself? I was so confused. "Bella, he's already miles away, and it's cold." "I don't care! I can't just sit here," I heard shuffling and then the tents zipper door open and shut. "I have to - I have to..." she mumbled. "You can't go after him. Not today. It's almost time. And getting yourself lost wouldn't help anyone, regardless...I'm sorry, Bella," Edward whispered. "I'm sorry I did that." I was still extremely confused. What did Bella or Edward do to Jacob? Did Jacob finally understand that Bella was only interested in Edward?  
"You didn't do anything. It's my fault. I did this. I did everything wrong. I could have...when he...I shouldn't have...I...I..." Bella was sobbing. "Bella, Bella," Edward said, sounding undoubtedly guilty. "I should have - told him - I should - have said- He shouldn't have - found out like this." She hiccuped. _  
_"Do you want me to see if I can bring him back, so that you can talk to him? There's still a little time," Edward murmured, hushed agony in his voice. Bella must've nodded yes because a sudden 'whoosh' sound passed and the mountain side was silent except for Bella's sobs. I decided to be brave and take advantage of the sudden feel of strength. Maybe I was finally getting better, or maybe this was the last few moments of life I'd have before I would fall over dead. Whichever one it was, I was about to find out.  
I propped myself up on my elbow slowly, cracking my back and neck in the process. But it felt good to move and stretch...at least I was telling myself it did.  
Not prepared to give up, I managed to unzip the tent three quarters of the way before needing a break. Bella gasped and looked at me. "Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry," she wiped away her tears as best she could and tried to fake a smile. I forgot that she didn't have hearing like the rest of us and didn't realize I had been awake during this whole dramatic scene.  
"No!" I lied, "I'm feeling pretty good today. Would you mind helping me up though?" I bit my lip, debating if my idea was a good idea or not. "I want to try to walk around, stretch my legs a bit."  
"Are you sure?" She sniffled, slowly walking towards me. I nodded. "Sure, it'll be a piece of cake." Seth, laying on a bed of dried pine needles, perched his head up and looked at me with wide eyes. I gave him a quick smile. Bella unzipped the rest of the tent and grabbed my forearm. She was hesitant but I was determined. I managed to use Bella's body as support and was on one knee. I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead and I probably sounded like I was having an asthma attack, but I needed this. I needed just a few minutes of strength.  
Basically using Bella as a walking stick, I finally got on both my feet and took small steps until I reached the outside of the tent. I took a deep breath. The view was beautiful. If I didn't think of the circumstances and just took in the moment I was in right now...I think I could die happy.  
Seth whined then and got to his feet. "What is it?" Bella asked. He started trotting to the edge of the trees, and pointed his nose toward the west. He began whimpering. "Is it the others, Seth? In the clearing?" I swallowed hard. He looked at me and Bella and yelped softly once, then turned his nose alertly back to the west. His ears laid back and he whined again. I began to panic. What if time had run out? What if Edward got too close and decided to join in the fight? Or what if Edward and Jacob were fighting with each other, far away somewhere in the forest? Seth grumbled slightly, deep in his chest, and then turned away from his watch and sauntered back toward his resting place. I could tell Bella was getting irritated. Seth jumped to his feet again suddenly, the hackles on the back of his neck standing up stiffly. I looked around, but saw nothing. "Seth, what?" I said a little more harsh than I intended. Bella was gonna throw a pine-cone at him or something. He growled, a low warning sound, slinking back toward the western rim. "It's just us, Seth," Jacob called from a distance. I felt Bella's heart rate quicken through her skin. I wondered if any of us really understood the three's relationship. But then again, I had no room to talk. It was none of my business.  
Edward walked into view first, his face blank and smooth. When he stepped out from the shadows, the sun shimmered on his skin like it did on the snow. His eyes met mine, wide and terrified. "Oh!" He zipped to my side. He placed his frozen hand on my forehead. "I can't believe this, how are you feeling? Here, you should sit down." He said, almost too fast for me to understand. Zipping quickly from the tent and then back to my side, he had a unfolded camping chair in his hands and placed it behind me. I let go of Bella and took Edwards hand for support. I took another deep breath and sat down as softly as possible, not wanting to ruin this lucky streak of adrenaline. Seth went to greet Edward, looking intently into his eyes. Edward nodded slowly, and worry creased his forehead. "Yes, that's all we need," he muttered to himself before addressing the big wolf. "I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. But the timing is going to be very close. Please have Sam ask Alice try to nail the schedule down better." Seth dipped his head once. Sure he could nod now.  
Jake, his back towards us, was facing the way he'd come. "Bella," Edward murmured. He stared down at her with nothing but concern showing in his eyes. "There's a bit of a complication," he told her, his voice carefully unworried. "I'm going to take Seth a little ways away and try to straighten it out. I won't go far, but I won't listen, either. I know you don't want an audience, no matter which way you decide to go." Only at the very end did the pain break into his voice. "Hurry back," Bella whispered after a short silence.  
Edward picked me up by the chair and started walking the opposite way. "Awe, c'mon, I won't listen either!" I begged. Edward just rolled his eyes but I think I heard a small chuckle come from Seth. He placed the chair next to the spot where Seth had made a bed of pine needles. "Stay here. No trying to walk or something else that's dangerous. And no listening. Got it?" Edward ordered in a serious tone. I couldn't help but looked at him a little surprised. "Okay." I could only whisper. "We'll be back soon. No listening." He repeated before smoothing my hair and kissing my forehead softly as an apology for his rough tone. Seth licked my hand before following Edward into the forest. I was shocked at the gesture, but maybe it was instinct for him in his wolf state.  
Butterflies ripped into my stomach. I almost mistook the feeling for needing to throw up and I almost yelled for Edward to come back and get the bucket...but I calmed down and leaned back deeper into the chair. I could feel this rush of strength weakening. My adventure might've been too much for me to take.  
"No!" I heard Bella suddenly yell. "No, Jacob! I won't let you!" I saw Jacob smiling and said something else. Bella was still in distress. I tried to look away, not wanting to eavesdrop like Edward gave me directions not to. I just couldn't. Jacob was manipulative and emotionally abusing Bella since the first day I had ever heard of this kid, let alone met him. He turned and started walking slowly into the forest. "Anything," Bella called out after him in a strangled voice. "Anything you want, Jacob. Just don't do this!" Jacob paused, turning slowly. He shook his head, them murmuring more things to eachother out of my hearing. Jacob smiled, shaking his head again.  
"Will you kiss me, Jacob?" My heart stopped and my eyes widened. My teeth snapped shut, my blood boiled with anger. _What the fuck?  
_ Jacobs eyes widened as well, then narrowed suspiciously. "You're bluffing" "Kiss me, Jacob. Kiss me, and then come back." Any idiot would've known Jacob would take advantage of the situation. Bella held very still - her eyes closed, her fingers curled into fists at her sides. Jacob's hands caught her face and his lips found hers with an eagerness that didn't look too far from violence. One of his hands moved to the nape of her neck, twisting into a fist at the roots of her hair. The other hand grabbed roughly at her shoulder, shaking her, and then dragging her closer to him. His hand continued down her arm, finding her wrist and then pulled it up around his own neck. He freed her wrist, his hand feeling it's way down her waist. He placed his hand at the small of her back and yanked her forward. I fought a growl that was rising in the pit of my stomach. Both of his arms were then constricting around her waist, and his lips separated from hers and then found her ear. He whispered something, making her shiver.  
I felt like I was going to puke. I turned my head toward the forest and fought tears. Why wasn't Bella stopping him? Why was Bella doing this to Jacob? Encouraging him on? Why was Bella doing this to Edward? Edward...god this was going to kill him. Hair began to pool over my face and I didn't have the energy to tuck it under my ears. I didn't want to see any more. I didn't want to have to see Bella or Jacob. I didn't want to have to see Edward and face him.  
I hadn't been so angry and upset since my first day waking up as a vampire.

By the time Edward and Seth returned to camp, Jacob left Bella to go to the fight. She moped to the tent and flopped onto her sleeping bag bed. Edward knew everything by now, since reading my thoughts _and_ the entire packs thoughts since they all had the ultimate group chat and Jacob had probably shifted by now.  
Everything was silent for a while but then I sensed a charge in the atmosphere, a new urgency. "It's getting close," I stated. Seth huffed. He was just as anxious for this to be over with as much as I was. "Dammit, stop that!" I heard Bella shout in the distance. Seth and I sighed in unison.  
"Is it wrong of me to be a little angry with her?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Seth made a funny noise and I couldn't tell if it was a yes or no. We sat in silence for a while before Seth quickly rose on his feet and ran to the edge of the clearing. Howling, Seth signaled the beginning of the fight. My body stiffened to the sound. Seth started to whimper. "What's wrong?" I asked. Was something happening? Was someone already hurt?  
Edward and Bella climbed out of the tent and joined my side. "He's just angry that he's stuck here with us. He knows the pack kept him out of the action to protect him. He's salivating to join them." "I don't blame him." I muttered, wishing I could've fought alongside everyone. Bella glared at us and I struggled not to glare at her right back, but for different reasons than the newborns war…  
"The newborns have reached the end of the trail - it worked like a charm, Jasper's a genius - and they've caught the scent of the ones in the meadow, so they're splitting into two groups now, as Alice said," Edward murmured. His eyes were focused on something far away, paying attention to all the voices in his head. "Sam's taking us around to head off the ambush party." He looked down at Bella suddenly. "Breathe, love." She struggled to do what he asked. While Seth was heavily panting, Bella was trying not to hyperventilate. "The first group is in the clearing. We can hear the fighting." Bella's teeth were locked together. Edward laughed once. "We can hear Emmett - he's enjoying himself." I chuckled. "What a goof." I mumbled, slightly smiling. If I closed my eyes and really focused, I could slightly hear the battle as well. I had faith in our winning. Though we were outnumbered, I felt calm about this whole situation for once. Or maybe I was just too exhausted to give it too much thought. Maybe it was just easy to pretend it wasn't really happening, as awful as it sounded. "The second group is getting ready - they aren't paying attention, they haven't heard us yet."  
Edward suddenly growled. "What?" Bella and I asked at the same time. "They're talking about Bella," his teeth clenched together. "They're supposed to make sure you don't escape...Nice move, Leah! Mmm, she's quite fast," he murmured in approval. "One of the newborns caught our scent, and Leah took him down before he could even turn. Sam's helping her finish him off. Paul and Jacob just got another one, but the others are on the defensive now. They have no idea what to make of us...No, let Sam lead. Stay out of the way," he muttered. "Separate them - don't let them protect each other's backs." Seth whined. "That's better, drive them toward the clearing," Edward approved. His body was shifting unconsciously as he watched, tensing for moves he would have made.  
The sudden absence of sound was the only warning. The deep rush of Seth's breath cut off. I stopped breathing, too - too frightened to even make my lungs work as I realized that Edward and Bella has frozen into a block of ice beside me.  
 _Oh no. No. No._ Who had been lost? Theirs or ours? So quickly that I wasn't exactly how it happened, I was on my feet and then tents were knocked down. And then Edward whispered urgently, "Go, Seth!" The tan wolf wheeled and disappeared into the forest shadows. I was terrified to the point of holding down the urge to puke, knowing something horrible had gone awry in the clearing. I opened my mouth to demand that Edward take me there, and do it now. They needed him, they needed me. If I had to bleed or distract to save them, I would do it. I would die to do it. I would find a way-  
Before I could attempt to voice my thoughts, I felt as if I was being flung through the air. But Edwards hands never let go of me - I was only being moved, so quickly that the sensation was like falling sideways. I found myself with my back pressed against the sheer cliff face. Edward stood in front of Bella and I, holding a posture that I knew at once. Relief washed through my mind at the same time that my stomach dropped through the soles of my feet. I'd misunderstood.  
Relief - nothing had gone wrong in the clearing.  
Horror - the danger was here.  
Edward held a defensive position - half crouched, his arms extended slightly - that I recognized with sickening certainty. Something was coming for us. "Who?" Bella whispered. I couldn't form words.  
Edwards voice came through his teeth in a snarl that was louder than I expected. Too loud. It meant that it was far too late to hide. We were trapped, and it didn't matter who heard his answer "Victoria," he spat, making it sound like a curse word. "She's not alone. She crossed my scent, following the newborns in to watch - she never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria."  
She was close enough that he could hear her thoughts. But she wasn't the Volturi. We could survive this. Edward was a good fighter. If she didn't bring too many others, he could fight this way out, back to our family. Edward was faster than anyone. He could make it.  
I was glad that Edward had sent Seth away. Of course, there was no one Seth could run to for help. Victoria had times her decision perfectly. But at least Seth was safe.  
Edwards body shifted - only infinitesimally, but it told me where to look. I stared at the black shadows of the forest. Two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of our camp, eyes intent, missing nothing. They glistened like diamonds in the sun.  
I could barely look at the blonde boy - yes, he was just a boy, thought he was muscular and tall, maybe Bella's age when he changed. His eyes - a more vivid red than I had ever seen before. Though he was closest to Edward, the nearest danger, I could not watch him. Because a few feet to the side and a few feet back, the girl was staring at Bella. Her orange hair was like a flame. There was no wind here, but the fire around her face seemed to shimmer slightly, as if it were alive. Her eyes were black with thirst. Her lips were pressed into a tight line. There was a striking feline quality to the way she held her coiled body, a lioness waiting for an opening to spring. Her restless, wild gaze flickered between Bella and me, but never rested on Edward for more than a half-second. Tension rolled off of her, nearly visible in the air. I could feel the desire, the all-consuming passion that held her in it's grip.  
Her plan was as obvious as it was practical. The big blonde boy would attack Edward. As soon as Edward was sufficiently distracted, Victoria would finish Bella. But she didn't expect me...I was still the only blind spot in her plan.  
The blonde boy looked at Victoria from the corner of his eye, waiting on her command. He was young in more ways than one. I guessed from his brilliant crimson irises that he couldn't have been a vampire for very long. He would be strong, but inept. Edward would know how to fight him. Edward would survive.  
"Riley," Edward said in a soft, pleading voice. The blonde boy froze, his red eyes widening. "She's lying to you, Riley," Edward told him. "Listen to me. She's lying to you just like she lied to the others who are dying now in the clearing. You know that she's lied to them, that she had you lie to them, that neither of you were ever going to help them. Is it so hard to believe that she's lied to you, too?"  
Confusion swept across the boys face. Edward shifted a few inches to the side, and Riley automatically compensated with an adjustment of his own. "She doesn't love you, Riley." Edwards soft voice was compelling, almost hypnotic. "She never has. She loved someone named James, and you're no more than a tool to her."  
When Edward had said the name James, Victoria's lips pulled back in a teeth-baring grimace. Her eyes stayed locked on Bella's. Riley cast a frantic glance in her direction. "Riley?" Edward said. The boy automatically refocused on Edward. "She knows that I will kill you, Riley. She wants you to die so that she doesn't have to keep up the pretense anymore. Yes - you've seen that, haven't you? You've read the reluctance in her eyes, suspected a false note in her promises. You were right. She's never wanted you. Every kiss, every touch was a lie."  
Edward moved again, moved a few inches toward the boy, a few inches away from Bella and I. Victoria's gaze zeroed in on the gap between us. It would take her less than a second to kill Bella and I - she only needed the tiniest margin of opportunity. Slower this time, Riley re-positioned himself. "You don't have to die," Edward promised, his eyes holding the boy's. "There are other ways to live than the way she's shown you. It's not all lies and blood, Riley. You can walk away right now. You don't have to die for her lies." Edward slid his feet forward and to the side. There was a foot of space between us now. Riley circled too far, overcompensating this time. Victoria leaned forward onto the balls of her feet. "Last chance, Riley," Edward warned in a whisper. Riley's face was desperate as he looked to Victoria for answers. "He's the liar, Riley," Victoria said in a babyish, soprano tinkling. The kind of voice that went with blonde curls and pink bubble gum. It made no sense coming through her bared, glistening teeth. "I told you about their mind tricks. You know I love only you." Riley's jaw tightened, and he squared his shoulders. His eyes emptied - there was no more confusion, no more suspicion. There was no thought at all. He shut himself down and tensed himself to attack. My breathing deepened, my heart rate quickening. I crouched, ready to help fight to the death.  
Victoria's body seemed to be trembling, she was so tightly wound. Her fingers were ready claws, waiting for Edward to move just one more inch away from me. The snarl came from none of them. A mammoth tan shape flew through the center of the opening, throwing Riley to the ground. "No!" Victoria, cried, her baby voice shrill with disbelief. "GO!" I screamed. "We can take care of Riley, just get Bella away from here!" I ordered Edward. For all Victoria knew, I was just some human that Edward and Bella had as a pet. She wouldn't let Bella leave so easily after all this hard work. Edward looked at me for a quick second before grabbing Bella and running higher up the mountain. I didn't look at the red head, I just prayed she would take the bait. I also prayed that Edward and Bella would come out of this alive.  
I ran towards Seth, the huge wolf ripping and tearing at the blonde vampire beneath him. Something white and hard smacked into the rocks on the opposite side of the rocks. Victoria did not spare one glance for the boy she'd just pledged her love to. Her eyes were on the blurry image of Bella and Edward, filled with a disappointment so ferocious that she looked deranged. "No," she said again, through her teeth. She followed them, determined to have her fight with Edward for Bella. I hoped I had done the right thing.  
Riley was on his feet again, looking misshapen and haggard, but he was able to fling a vicious kick into Seth's shoulder. I heard the bone crunch. Seth backed off and started to circle, limping. Riley had his arms out, ready, though he seemed to be missing part of one hand..."Wait!" I screamed, stopping them both in their tracks. Seth didn't break eye-contact with him, waiting to see if he'd lunge unexpectedly. I was out of breath but I would have to manage. I had to fight. "Riley...you saw how Victoria just left you. She didn't even look at you when you were in danger. Walk away from her. Start a new life. Walk away from this war. Walk away from death." Riley broke the glare from Seth and glanced at me. Suspicious if this was some kind of joke or trick. Riley growled loudly, staring me down, and charged towards me. Seth lunged at him from the side, and something tore with a hideous, grating screech. Another heavy white chunk flew into the forest with a thud. Riley roared in fury, and Seth skipped back - amazingly light on his feet for his size - as Riley took a swipe at him wit hone mangled hand and part of his shoulder missing. Riley was closing the distance between them again, glancing towards me again, driving Seth toward the cliff face beside me. Seth snapped at at Riley, forcing him back again. Seth struck, crunching off another small piece of the vampire. Riley bellowed and launched a massive backhanded blow that caught Seth full in his broad chest. Seth's huge body soared ten feet and crashed into the rocky wall over my head with a force that seemed to shake the whole peak. I heard the breath escape from his lungs as he rebounded off the stone and collapsed on the ground. A low whimper escaped through Seth's teeth. My heart ached, terrified for both our lives and painfully watching Seth lose consciousness.  
Riley suddenly rushed over to me, a grin on his face, he grabbed a fist full of my hair with his one hand and dragged me until we were in the middle of the snow where our tents once were. I screamed at the pain, seeing black spots and fighting consciousness myself. Before I knew it, his teeth sank into my neck.  
After screaming in pain from his digging teeth, the familiar fire quickly raced through my veins but instead of burning and torturing my skin and flesh, the venom felt like it was giving my body life again. I invited the burning sensation, I suddenly loved the burning sensation. Riley, just as quickly as he bit me, retreated from my neck and spit out the mouth full of blood, gagging and choking. "What the fuck," he muttered to himself when he caught his breath. I suddenly stood up effortlessly. I breathed in deeply, the burning traveled further and further through my bloodstream. "We gave you multiple chances, Riley." I said before zipping towards his side and grabbing him by his right leg. I lifted him into the air, beaming with power, then slammed him against the ground. His skin and the frozen dirt beneath his metallic body cracked.  
He groaned in pain. "You helped Victoria hurt my family!" I said, raising my voice. My body felt replenished by the second. That was it. Venom. That was all I needed. Though I paused, wondering if I owed Riley my life...wondering if I should give him another chance. He quickly got up and crouched in in animal like stance, ready to fight back. I was strong but I worried if I was strong enough. In the corner of my eye, I saw Seth twitching. Suddenly, with an ear splitting growl, Riley lunged towards me. I remembered what Jasper had said, how newborns go for the obvious kill. I quickly changed direction and dodged Riley's attack. He caught himself and charged again. Too quick for me to move out of the way this time, he grabbed me by the throat and slammed me to the ground. Wrestling with Emmett, I knew how to escaped this move easily. I kicked Riley in the stomach hard enough to flip him over my head and slam him on his own back, but this time, I kept hold of his neck and had him in a choke hold. "You should've taken our offer." I muttered in his ear before snapping his neck and ripping his head off of his shoulders.  
The blonde streaks bounced once before rolling to a dead stop.  
I staggered backwards, Riley's lifeless body sunken into the white snow. I stared at my shaking hands and suddenly couldn't breathe. The black spots were coming back. My heart pounded deep in my chest and vibrated throughout my entire body. I fell to my knees, threw up, and fainted.


	10. Chapter 10: Purple Smoke

**10\. Purple Smoke**

I was first aware of the cool hands touching me. More than one pair of hands. Arms holding me, a palm curved to fit my cheek, fingers stroking my forehead, and more fingers pressed lightly into my wrist. Then I was aware of the voices. They were just a humming at first, and then they grew in volume and clarity like someone was turning up a radio.  
"Carlisle - it's been twelve minutes." Esme's voice, anxious. "She'll come around. She's weak but she still looks better than the last time we saw her." Carlisle's voice, always calm and sure. "She's had too much to deal with today. Let her mind protect itself." I felt disconnected from my body. Like I was caged in some small corner of my head, no longer at the controls. I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't think. The agony was too strong for that. There was no escape from it.  
 _Seth. Seth. No, no, no, no, no, no…_  
"Alice, how long do we have?" Jasper demanded, his voice tense; Carlisle's soothing words hadn't helped. From farther away, Alice's voice. It was brightly chipper. "Another five minutes. And she'll open her eyes in in twelve seconds. I wouldn't doubt that she can hear us now."  
"Honey?" This was Esme's soft, comforting voice. "Can you hear me? You're safe now, dear. It's all over." Yes, I was safe. Everything was over. Everything. Then cool lips were at my ear, and Edward was speaking the words that allowed me to escape from the torture that had me caged inside my own head. "He's okay. Seth is healing as we speak. He's fine." As the pain and dread eased, I found my way back to my body. My eyelids fluttered. "Oh thank goodness," Esme sighed in relief. "Mom," I whispered. "Yes, I'm here."  
I don't know why the word escaped out of my mouth but it just slipped. I didn't feel awkward about it or regret it but it was just surprising. I had never called Esme mom before and I never really had plans to. I got my lids to open, and I stared into numerous pairs of warm gold, then Bella's chocolate browns. "Seth is okay?" I asked. "Yes," Edward promised. Memories started flooding instantaneously. Her red flaming hair, Bella's terrified chokes, Edward's chest vibrating with growls. "Victoria!" I said, loudly, and started hyperventilating. I tried to sit up but icy hands grabbed me to stay down. "She's gone, we're fine, you're fine, shhh, it's okay. It's all okay." Edward explained. I couldn't calm my breathing. "She-she's gone?" I asked, tears filling in my eyes. "She's gone. We don't have to worry about her anymore." Only a small part of me relaxed. "I killed him," I choked out before I started to downright sob. "I had to kill him. I t-tried to give him another c-chance but he started a-attacking me and-and-and," Esme grabbed my shoulders and hugged me tight. "You did what you had to do," Carlisle said. "You could've given up but you stood your place and you fought back, honey, and we're so proud of you. Thank you. Thank you for not giving up." Esme added, crying but no actual tears came out. I knew what she meant by giving up. I would've just let Riley kill me as bait so Seth could've finished him off. Or I could've just taken the selfish route and let Riley or Victoria kill me just because I couldn't handle being sick anymore.  
"Is anyone else hurt?" I asked, trying to not think about the two vampires. Edward took a quick glance at Bella but her face showed no emotion. "Jacob Black." Before I could ask any questions, Carlisle explained. "His life is not in any danger. He was healing at an incredible rate, though his injuries were extensive enough that it will be a few days before he is back to normal. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to do what I can to help him and Seth. Sam is trying to get them both to phase back in to their human forms." Carlisle smiled slightly. "I've never been to veterinarian school."  
I looked back at Bella, her face was still blank, like she already knew this information. "What happened?" I asked, trying not to tell myself that he deserved it after everything that's happened the past week and a half. Especially the past two days. Carlisle's face was serious again. "Another wolf was in trouble. Jacob knocked her out of the way, but he didn't have time to defend himself. The newborn got his arms around him. Most of the bones on the right half of his body were shattered." Ouch. "Sam and Paul got there in time. He was already improving when they took him back to La Push." "He'll be back to normal?" I asked, wondering if this was the last time Jake would be able to be in wolf form again. "Yes, he won't have any permanent damage."  
"Three minutes," Alice said quietly. "What's happening?" I asked, what was she counting down to? Were there more newborns? Was the pack coming back? But then how did Alice have her visions if the pack was near?  
"The Volturi have decided it was time to intercede." My mind refused to make sense of the words, pretended it couldn't understand. "Don't panic, they aren't coming for us. It's just the normal contingent of the guard that usually cleans up this kind of mess. Nothing momentous, they're merely doing their job. Of course, them seem to have timed their arrival very carefully. Which leads me to believe that no one in Italy would mourn if these newborns had reduced the size of the Cullen family." The words came through Edwards teeth, hard and bleak. "I'll know for sure what they were thinking when they get close." Could I handle this? Could they handle me? "It's safer for us to present a united front at this point. They have no reason to harass us but if we were to run you home, they would think we were hiding you. A form of dishonestly and distrust to them. They would view you as a threat, a secret weapon so to say." Secret weapon. I remembered then. How Riley's biting me gave me enough strength to feel normal again, at least for a few minutes. Venom. "Venom," I whispered. "What?" Edward asked. "That's how I was able to kill Riley. That's why I look and feel better right now. Riley bit me and the-" Both Edward and Carlisle's face had a reaction of confusion, disbelief, and then something that reminded me of a light bulb above their head going 'ding!' "Of course!" They interrupted. "It makes sense. I don't know why we never thought of that as an option before." "If you're going to bite her, do it fast. One minute," Alice warned. "You have to bite me," I begged. "They won't listen if I can't prove it." I remembered Edward telling me the 'rules' of being a vampire and how ruthless the Volturi were. You didn't want to be involved with them unless it was absolutely necessary. Edward looked at me carefully before grabbing my right arm and biting down. I welcomed the fire again, and though it hurt worse than earlier I knew this was my only way of survival. He held his mouth there for half a minute, making sure I got enough.  
I bit my lower lip and tried not to cry in pain from my skin trying to heal itself around their teeth. Edward stopped, making a quiet disgusted sound. "Riley had the same reaction, except he took a mouth full." I said, already feeling better. "I wonder why it tastes so...and no offense, but...gross. I can't even describe it." He stared at my wrist, as it quickly healed and sewed itself up. "Thirty seconds." Alice warned. I didn't need help getting up, though multiple hands extended for support. I felt almost completely normal. And though I was sure this meant more tests from Carlisle, it was better than throwing up and breaking bones at the slightest touch.  
There were three piles of ash along the clearing, the newborns bodies had all disintegrated. The nearest pile was more of a bonfire. There were hardly any flames visible, just the thick, purple-black smoke, hovering like a disease against the bright grass. Emmett and Rosalie stood next to Alice who were staring into the forest in front of us all. I was surprised they remained so quiet this entire time. Edward, Bella, Carlisle, and Esme followed me as I stood with Emmett on my left and Alice on my right. "It's good to see you on your feet again, shorty." Emmett said, grinning slightly as he ruffled my hair. I grabbed Alice's hand and waited until we finally saw their shadows walking towards us.  
"Hmm," a dead voice murmured from the mist. "Welcome, Jane," Edward said first, his tone was cooly courteous. The dark shapes came closer, separating themselves from the haze, solidifying. I guessed that this 'Jane' girl was the one in the front - the darkest cloak, almost black, and the smallest figure by more half a foot. I could just barely make out her features. Four black-shrouded figures hulked behind her. A boy let his hood fall back slightly, smiling at someone and winked. Jane's gaze moved slowly across the luminous faces of the Cullen's and then stopped on something behind us. "I don't understand." Her voice was toneless.  
I followed her gaze until I saw Jasper near a tree with a girl crouched down. She had her head clenched between her hands. "She has surrendered," Edward explained, answering the confusion in her mind. She was a newborn.  
Jane's dark eyes flashed to his face. "Surrendered?" Two of the shadows near her exchanged a quick glance. Edward shrugged "Carlisle gave her the option."  
"There are no options for those who break the rules," Jane said flatly. Her eyes then traveled and stared deeply into mine. I stopped breathing. Carlisle spoke then, his voice mild. "That's in your hands. As long as she was willing to halt her attack on us, I saw no need to destroy her. She was never taught."  
"That is irrelevant," Jane insisted, breaking the stare and looking back at Carlisle and Edward. "As you wish." Jane stared at them in consternation. She shook her head slightly, and then composed her features. "Aro hoped that we would get far enough west to see you, Carlisle. He sends his regards." Carlisle nodded. "I would appreciate it if you would convey mine to him."  
"Of course," Jane smiled. Her face was almost too lovely when it was animated. She looked back toward the smoke. "It appears you've done out work for us today...for the most part." Her eyes flickered to the newborn and then me. "Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there? They left quite a wake of destruction in Seattle."  
"Eighteen, including this one." Carlisle answered. Jane's eyes widened, and she looked at the fire again, seeming to reassess the size of it. The same two boys exchanged a longer glance. "Eighteen?" she repeated, her voice sounding unsure for the first time. "All brand-new," Carlisle said dismissively. "They were unskilled." "All?" Her voice turned sharp. "Then who was their creator?"  
"Her name was Victoria," Edward answered, no emotion in his voice. "Was?" Jane asked. Edward inclined his head toward the eastern forest. Jane's eyes snapped up and focused on something far in the distance. The pillar of smoke that was burning Riley and Victoria's body. Jane stared to the east for a long moment, and then examined the closer bonfire again. "This Victoria - she was in addition to the eighteen here?" "Yes. She had only one other with her. He was no as young as this one here, but no older than a year."  
"Twenty," Jane breathed. "Who dealt with the creator?" "I did," Edward told her. Jane's eyes narrowed, and she turned to the newborn behind us. "You there," she said, her dead voice harsher than before. "Your name." The girl shot a baleful glare at Jane, her lips pressed tightly together. Jane smiled back angelically. The newborn girl's answering scream was ear-piercing; her body arched stiffly into a distorted, unnatural position. I looked away, fighting the urge to cover my ears. I remembered Edward saying that the Volturi had members who had special and dangerous 'gifts'. I gritted my teeth. The screaming intensified, but then finally it was quiet again. "Your name," Jane said again, her voice inflection-less.  
"Bree," the girl gasped. Jane smiled and then girl shrieked again. I held my breath until the sound of her agony stopped. "She'll tell you anything you want to know," Edward said through his teeth. "You don't have to do that." Jane looked up, sudden humor in her dead eyes. "Oh, I know." she said to Edward, grinning at him before she turned back to the young vampire, Bree. "Bree," Jane said, her voice had turned cold again. "Is his story true? Were there twenty of you?" The girl lay panting, the side of her face pressed against the earth. She spoke quickly. "Nineteen or twenty, maybe more, I don't know!" She cringed, terrified that her ignorance might bring on another round of torture. "Sara and the one whose name I don't know got in a fight on the way..."  
"And this Victoria - did she create you?" "I don't know," she said, flinching again. "Riley never said her name. I didn't see that night...it was so dark, and it hurt." Bree shuddered. "He didn't want us to be able to think of her. He said that our thoughts weren't safe." Jane's eyes flickered to Edward, then back to the girl. Victoria had planned this well. If she hadn't followed Edward, there would have been no way to know for certain that she was involved... "Tell me about Riley," Jane said. "Why did he bring you here?"  
"Riley told us that we had to destroy the strange yellow-eyes here," Bree babbled quickly and willingly. "He said it would be easy. He said that the city was theirs, and they were coming to get us. He said once they were gone, all the blood would be ours. He gave us her scent," Bree lifted one hand and stabbed a finger at Bella. "He said we would know that we had the right coven, because she would be with them. He said whoever got to her first could have her."  
"It looks like Riley was wrong about the easy part," Jane noted. Bree nodded, seeming relieved that the conversation had taken this non-painful course. She sat up carefully. "I don't know what happened. We split up, but the others never came. And Riley left us, and he didn't come to help like he promised. And then it was so confusing and everybody was in pieces," she shuddered again. "I was afraid. I wanted to run away. That one" -she looked at Carlisle- "said they wouldn't hurt me if I stopped fighting."  
"Ah, but that wasn't his gift to offer, young one," Jane murmured, her voice oddly gentle now. "Broken rules demand a consequence." Bree stared at her, not comprehending. Jane looked at Carlisle. "Are you sure you got all of them? The other half that split off?" Carlisle's face was very smooth as he nodded. "We split up, too." Jane half-smiled. "I can't deny that I'm impressed." The big shadows behind her murmured in agreement. "I've never seen a coven escape this magnitude of offensive intact. Do you know what was behind it? It seems like extreme behavior, considering the way you live here. And why was the girl the key?" Her eyes rested on Bella for one short second. "Victoria held a grudge against Bella," Edward told her, his voice impassive. Jane laughed - the sound was golden, the bubbling laugh of a happy child. "This one seems to bring out bizarrely strong reactions to our kind," she observed, smiling directly at Bella, her face beatific.  
Edward stiffened. "Would you please not do that?" he asked in a tight voice. Jane laughed again lightly. "Just checking. No harm done, apparently." Whatever strange glitch in Bella's system that didn't allow her body to work with certain vampire powers came in handy when it came to this psycho bitch. "Well it appears that there's not much left for us to do. We see you have another human pet?" Jane asked, one eyebrow raised as she slowly turned her head and gaze toward me. "This is something else we had been meaning to discuss with the Volturi. We don't seem to understand her situation." Carlisle said, stepping forward. Alice's squeeze on my hand tightened. Emmett put a hand around my shoulders. "Oh? And what's your name?" Jane asked. I wondered if she would zap me with her painful gift as well if I didn't answer quickly. I opened my mouth but no words came out. "She doesn't have one. At least, she doesn't remember it. Not yet, maybe." Carlisle quickly answered for me. Jane's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, as well as the other faces behind her.  
"She was bitten in the forest near our house but her transformation seemed to stop halfway and froze. I took numerous tests and Alice contacted some of our kind but this has never seemed to ever happen before. She is half-vampire and half-human. Her eyes were blue in her human state, purple in her newborn state, and now green as a mix of our golden eyes from our diet and the blue from her human side. It's quite amazing actually." Edward quickly added to the conversation. "She's not a threat, Jane. Her instincts are, if anything, better than a normal newborns because she has her humanity to rely on. She has great strength but she also has great will power and control. She is not a danger to anyone." Edward said, it almost sounded like a warning. "Half vampire..." Jane muttered. Suddenly, the piercing scream that I heard minutes earlier coming from the newborn, was suddenly coming out of my own throat. It felt like a million pieces of dull glass were slowly scraping every inch of my skin off of my body. My bones felt as if they were being fractured and then gluing themselves back together, only to break again. My intestines vibrated, twisting and turning by this demon.  
Suddenly, it stopped. I was on the ground, moaning in pain. Regaining feeling in my body, I felt Alice's frozen hands on my arm and Emmett's shadow covered my upper torso. "You bitch," I managed to spit out. "So she speaks," Jane said, practically smiling from ear to ear. "but it still doesn't prove she's a vampire." I managed to stand back up, my blood boiling with anger.  
"Bite me." I told her. Her eyes widened with shock, as well as everyone around us. She awkwardly laughed, not really knowing if I meant it as an insult or not. I wondered if she would inflict her power on me again. "You don't believe me. Bite me. If I'm lying and I'm fully human, I'll turn. Which is what I'd have to do anyways, if I was human and knew about our kind." She remained silent.  
I was playing with fire at this point. If she did get close enough, she could either bite me or kill me and I wouldn't know until it was too late. I felt Alice's hand tighten around my forearm. She was searching to see if Jane would try anything stupid. It was another minute before she finally let go. I went three steps forward and waited to see if Jane would take my challenge. She narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "You have the secret weapon, here. If I tried anything, you'd be able to stop me in a heartbeat. Like Edward and Carlisle and the rest of my family say...I'm not a threat. Bite me and it'll prove to you and the rest of the Volturi just that." I held out my arm so my inner wrist faced the sky. She continued to glare at me, debating what she should do.  
Suddenly, slightly smiling, she turned her chin towards the the right, not breaking eye contact. "Felix?" she almost sang. The boy who earlier removed his hood and winked was now walking towards me, staring me down and smiling. I tensed as the distance between us shortened, but then he kept walking. Past me, past the rest of the family members, all the way to Bree...Completely ignoring me. Did she change her mind? Did she hear my abnormal slow heart rate? Could you just sense it? Did a different member just have some sort of vampire radar? I was shockingly confused, but stayed silent.  
"Well it appears that there's not much left for us to do. Odd," Jane said, apathy creeping back into her voice. "We're not used to being rendered unnecessary. It's too bad we missed the fight. It sounds like it would have been entertaining to watch." "Yes," Edward answered quick and sharp. "And you were so close. It's a shame you didn't arrive just a half hour earlier. Perhaps you could have fulfilled your purpose here." Jane met Edward's glare with unwavering eyes. "Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out, isn't it." Edward nodded once, his suspicions confirmed. Jane looked to Bree again, her face completely bored. "Felix?" She repeated. "Wait," Edward interjected. Jane raised one eyebrow, but Edward was staring at Carlisle while he spoke in an urgent voice. "We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn't seem unwilling to learn. She didn't know what she was doing."  
"Of course," Carlisle answered. "We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree, just as we did with our newest family member." He gestured to me before looking back to Bree and then Jane. Jane's expression was torn between amusement and disbelief. Edward became extremely stiff and frozen, like a block of ice. "We don't make exceptions," Jane said, a hint of unsureness seemed to lurk behind her words but she quickly calmed herself. "And we don't give second chances. It's bad for our reputation. Which reminds me, Caius will be so interested to hear that you're still human, Bella. Perhaps he'll decide to visit."  
"The date is set," Alice told her, speaking for the first time. "Perhaps we'll come visit you in a few months." Jane's smile faded, and she shrugged indifferently, never looking at Alice. She turned to face Carlisle. "It was nice to meet you, Carlisle - I'd thought Aro was exaggerating. Well, until we meet again..." Carlisle nodded, his expression pained. "Take care of that, Felix," Jane said, nodding towards Bree, her voice dripping boredom. "I want to go home."  
I stared at the ground and clenched my fists. "Don't watch," I heard Edward whisper to Bella. But we could all still hear. There was a deep, rumbling growl, and then a high-pitched keen that was horribly familiar. That sound cut off quickly, and then the only sound was a sickening crunching and snapping. "Come," Jane said, and I looked up in time to see the backs of the tall black cloaks drifting towards the curling smoke, except for Jane who was walking backwards and her piercing red eyes still stared directly at me. "Aro will most definitely want more information on _her._ " My heart stopped. Could they figure out who I was before my transition? Would they take me away the next time they came?  
The curling smoke continued to rise, the incense smell was strong again - fresh. The figures disappeared into the thick mist.


	11. Chapter 11: Warm Hands, Cold Feet

**11\. Warm Hands, Cold Feet**

"Bella are you suuure you're not just enjoying this a little bit?" I teased as I peeked into the bathroom to see Alice rummaging through a make-up bag to add more product to Bella's features. She narrowed her eyes at me through the reflection in the mirror, "You know, I think I'm just about finished so it can be your turn!" She smirked and then grabbed something off the desk. It didn't take me long to see what she was holding up- Alice's evil eyelash device. I smacked it out of her hand in pure instinct. "Hey hey hey! I'm trying to work here!" Alice interrupted, her voice slightly muffled from a bobby pin hanging slightly from her mouth. "That's enough, Alice, I want to go back to La Push." Bella begged, her mood quickly disintegrating again. "Jacob's still unconscious," Alice answered. "Carlisle or Edward will call when he's awake. Anyway, you need to go see Charlie. He was there at Billy's house, he saw that Carlisle and Edward are back in from their trip, and he's bound to be suspicious when you get home." Bella rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Is Seth doing better?" I cautiously asked. Alice perked up "Awake and almost fully recovered, just like Jacob will be in a few days," she said while squeezing Bella's shoulders. Bella was looking down at her hands but it almost appeared like she was pouting.

"C'mon Purple! It's time to test out this vampire diabetus shot!" Emmett yelled for the whole house to hear, laughing at his own joke. I grumbled and slowly made my way into Carlisle's office where Emmett and Jasper were still laughing and joking at my expense.

Since we had realized that venom was the answer to keeping my health levels up, the new running joke was that I had vampire diabetes. My own body couldn't make enough venom to sustain itself so Carlisle came up with the idea to make vials of venom from family members and turn them into shots for me to take weekly, or at least periodically- we wouldn't know how frequent the schedule would be until Carlisle could do more trial and error tests. I didn't really think about the extraction process of the venom for too long, it grossed me out too much to think that, in a way, it was my family members spit in those vials. Or maybe they extracted it like you would the venom from a snake- I really had no idea.

Carlisle had created the first shot in the middle of the night the day we came back from the battle we had with Victoria's newborns. Carlisle was mostly in and out of the house, helping Jacob Black recover as well as monitor Seth. No one else had gotten injured that day, thankfully.

"I thought we were gonna wait for Carlisle to come home before we tried it?" I asked, leaning on the door frame. They just smiled and crossed their arms. Before I could say anything else, I heard the rumble of a nearby car and a garage door opening outside. I sighed and held out my arms wrist side up. "The lab rat is ready. Shackle me up so I don't escape," I half heartedly joked. I really didn't enjoy these tests whatsoever. The constant attention to my abnormal state just made me feel uncomfortable. "Oh come now, today won't be so bad," Carlisle said, suddenly behind me with his hand on my back. "Yeah, Purple, it'll be fine. If you explode in a newborn rage Jasper and I will be right here to save your ass again," Emmett smirked. Jasper sent a wave of calm my way, still stepping on eggshells around me since the training night incident. Even with the rush of relaxation, I stuck my tongue out at them both.

I made my way to the hospital bed Carlisle set up in here for our routine check-ups and hopped on the step, plopping my butt on the very edge of the bed to make a point that I didn't want to be here for too long. "Okay, let me just write down your vitals before we give you the injection," Carlisle said while opening his briefcase and grabbing his regular tools. He started with my blood pressure and heartbeat and continued to work around me while I just sat and followed his instructions.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jasper said after a few minutes went by of extreme silence. I realized I had drifted deep into my head, just reliving the last few days. Still trying to grasp at everything that had occurred. "You and Emmett are just gonna tease me," I mumbled, a little more pouty than I meant to appear. Emmett raised his right hand, "I'm on my best behavior." I couldn't help but smirk and roll my eyes. He smiled back and winked.

"Well, honestly, I was kinda thinking that… well since we still don't have any information about me, and you already call me purple," I raised my hand motioning towards Emmett but then looked down at my knees, suddenly shy. "I was thinking that we could call me Violet? Or at least just tell people that's what my name is until we find a better one or something…" I drifted off to a mumble.

Carlisle took his knuckle and raised my chin so I was looking him in the eyes. "I think Violet is perfect." I smiled and lovingly pushed his hand away. "Absolutely," Jasper added. Small beads of tears formed in the corners of my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. "I still have permission to call you purple though, right?" Emmett joked and I laughed deep from my belly, like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Suddenly Rose, Alice, and Esme were at the doorway walking in. "We heard the celebration!" Alice chimed, almost skipping as she walked to give me a hug. We were all smiling from ear to ear when I noticed someone was missing. "Where did Bella go?" I asked. "She just left to go play up the facade with Charlie. I'm sure she's headed to the reservation soon after though." If Alice had any negative feelings about the situation, she was great at masking them. I pursed my lips, thinking about asking another question but I held my tongue. It was none of my concern how I felt about Bella's ridiculous love triangle with Edward and Jacob Black.

"Okay," Carlisle breathed deep, removing any wires and equipment that measured my vitals electronically. "Ready for the injection?" He asked. I just nodded, not really knowing what else to do. He got up and flew to his desk, grabbing one of the vials from a small cooler that read 'BIOHAZARD'. He flew back to my side and had a needle steadily ready in his hand.

"Now we don't know what kind of side effects this will have, if any, so you must be very vocal about anything you're feeling." He instructed, I nodded again. He carefully grabbed my left arm and inserted the needle in the protruding vein inside my elbow. Slowly pushing the plastic until it was empty.

Burning. The same toxic acid feeling inside my blood as the night of my attack. The feeling took my breath away, hurting worse than it had on the mountainside or in the clearing before the members of the Volturi made their appearance.

I found myself holding my breath, eyes shut, for what felt like minutes, just rolling by. I could feel the poison traveling up my arm, into my chest, down my other arm, into my stomach, thighs, legs… I wanted to start running, no, bolting, just to pathetically try and run from this pain, though I knew it would do nothing. I dug my fingernails into my palms, being able to do nothing else physically to control my sudden rush of antsy.

After what felt like forever, I could release my breath and inhale. Every one of my senses were heightened like I had just been reborn again. Smell, sight, touch, taste, sound...

I opened my eyes and looked up into the faces of my wary family members.

"How do you feel?" Rosalie asked, calmly.

I took a deep breath again as the burning was slowly subsiding and I found myself smiling.

"Thirsty."

* * *

I looked up at the full moon and found myself feeling extremely cliche and vulnerable. It was still partly cloudy and giving off a slight mist in the air, the usual Washington weather, but I didn't mind it. I just tightened my hood and breathed in the humid forest scent.

I don't know what possessed me to leave home and start walking this way but it just felt like it had been so long since I'd seen him. Carlisle and Alice had given me updates in the beginning but after the first few days, there really wasn't much more to update on. Seth had healed much faster than Jacob since his injuries weren't as harsh and Carlisle was only given permission to give his doctoral expertise for a brief period- due to the treaty.

I had worded questions in a non-suspicious way enough to figure out where the border of the treaty line was and I just couldn't get it out of my head. I found myself walking out the front door and just following the road. Carlisle was at work for the night shift, Edward was with Bella, Alice has been nose-deep in wedding planning ever since Bella gave her full reign a few weeks ago, and everyone else just didn't mind I guess...They always vocalized that my staying with them should be a choice. That I shouldn't feel trapped to be a Cullen. I could leave whenever I wanted. But when I thought about where else I would go- I just couldn't imagine being alone. If I thought of Europe, Alice was right there next to me showing the best shops and hidden paradises. If I thought of Africa, Emmett and Rose were hunting by my side, racing and laughing in the heat.

Suddenly I felt guilty for leaving, hoping that they wouldn't get the wrong impression. Surely Alice would've seen my intentions...but maybe not because I was hoping to see Seth on my small adventure.

I was only a few more minutes from the treaty line when the slight buzzing of a motorcycle was in the distance, headed into La Push. I could tell that they were going way faster than any speed limit allowed. Were they a resident of the reservation or just a ballsy tourist driving through, I wondered.

I just stared at the bright light as the buzzing increased until soon it was a roar, and just as quickly- the bike was suddenly flying past me. It was my own fault for walking almost in the center of the road but when the motorcycle passed, a rush of wind kicked back and released the all familiar scent. Werewolf.

But not the wolf that I was hoping for.

The bike's brakes suddenly glowed red and they skidded to a halt but due to their speed, stopped about thirty yards in front of me. The driver didn't hesitate to turn around quickly and drive up next to me, almost running over my feet-but I didn't move. I was frozen, already anticipating his reaction.  
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jacob Black spat at me. My blood started to boil. "Do you know how close you are to the line?" He added. The boil came to a halt. For the first time with him, I was at a loss for words. His first remark sparked a fire in my belly but then after looking around I realized that I was dangerously close to the treaty border. I could see the large pine tree maybe 50 feet away that marked the imaginary line. "I-I'm sorry, I was gonna stop sooner." I managed to choke out, kicking myself for not paying closer attention. I was shocked at myself. I could've destroyed everything my family worked for.  
"Whatever, dude, what do you want?" Jacob, still furious, asked.

I didn't even know how to word it. What was I even thinking, showing up here unannounced. I suddenly felt ashamed and small. "I'm...sorry, I'll just-" I pointed in the opposite direction of La Push and turned my heels to leave.

"Jake?" Someone yelled, another man. I shoved my hands in my pockets and clutched the cell phone Alice gave me, debating if I should call someone to pick me up or not. I could try and just run but I didn't want to risk it if the sudden guest was a normal resident of the reservation.  
"Oh, perfect timing. Your vampire decided to show up in the middle of the night." Jacob sneered. I quickened my pace. "Hey! Wait up!" The second man shouted. I suddenly recognized his voice- Seth. I didn't stop but I did manage to tell my feet to slow down.

Jacob's motorcycle revved a few times before gliding off and Seth was jogging to catch up to me. "I know you heard me," he said, smiling from ear to ear. I suddenly had a lump in my throat, feeling like an unwelcomed guest trudging through someone's front yard.  
"Hey, whoa, what's wrong?" Genuinely concerned, he grabbed my arm to stop me from walking any further. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding in and lowered my hood, making him let go of my arm. "Seth, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that I was so close to the line and Jacob is just a fucking jerk and- god why am I such an idiot- I just wanted to see you and I didn't know how else to do it and," I was downright just rambling at this point, borderline hyperventilating and looking anywhere but his eyes, knowing then I would really lose it.  
He grabbed my arms again and suddenly we were in an airtight hug. It was the closest I'd been to him in his human form. The last time we were this close were those bone-chilling days on the mountain side, the warmth from his wolf state probably being the reason I survived the night.

"I'm just so glad you're okay," I mumbled, breathing in his scent. I held back a shiver as memories flooded of Riley and Victoria, planning all of our deaths.

"Glad that I'm okay? I'm so glad that you're okay! I was supposed to be the one protecting you, I should be the one apologizing." He laughed and moved his right arm from my back to my head, still wrapped around me. I slowly moved my arms to coil around him as well, placing my hands in the small of his back. He must've been over six feet tall as he easily engulfed my 5'3" frame.  
"How did you do it?" He asked, pushing off me to look me in the eye. I didn't want to move my hands.  
"You were so sick before." His eyebrows started to scrunch, studying my reaction. I hesitantly pushed back even further so our arms were no longer touching and ran my fingers through my hair to try and clear my head. I didn't know how much I could, or should, tell him. "We know you're different from the others," he added with a smirk while I was still struggling for words. We, meaning the pack and others meaning my family...or just other vampires in general. I wondered how they felt about us all now, after working together.

"It's too weird. You'll make fun of me," I finally spoke, biting my lip.

"Awe c'mon, you gotta give me more credit than that!" He jokingly punched my arm, lightly, but the gesture almost made me cringe. Like I was just his sporting buddy he was trying to get gossip from. "Ya know, I witnessed a lot of smells those two days on the mountain. Lots of puke- I mean you were spitting chunks- and I never made fun of you once." I stared at him mortified and humiliated. I'm sure that if it had been daylight my face would be pink from the sudden mood change. I clamped my mouth shut and quickly turned on my heels to face the road leading south, whipping my hair with more effect than I had intended.

"Bye," I said through gritted teeth and started walking home again. What the hell was wrong with these Quileute guys?  
"Shit, okay, not funny-" he had no trouble keeping up with my pace. He tried to grab my arm again but I pulled free quickly and kept walking. He knew better than to try and grab me again.  
" _I almost died_." I spat at him, trying to make the words sting. I heard him wince next to me, trying to come up with his next sentence carefully. Perhaps I was being dramatic but I had seen Carlisle's papers of the details of my condition.  
"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't make light of a situation I don't know anything about." Seth sounded genuinely apologetic but I stayed silent and continued walking. His quick apology took me by surprise and made me feel remorseful about getting so worked up. It was hard to be too mad at him for long, since he really was in the dark about my body's sci-fi novel-esque state and he had been such a big help during the newborn chaos.  
I wondered if eventually he would stop following but he continued to just walk along with me, matching my stride. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and noticed he was looking into the forest, deep in his own thoughts. Feeling my stare, he looked back at me and held my gaze.  
I was still silently annoyed but managed to take a deep breath and force a smile. "You really wanna hear my horror story?" His expression instantly perked up, knowing he had been forgiven. "I don't get scared easily," he smiled and his teeth gleamed even in the dark of the road.  
"Will your boyfriends miss you?" I teased, pointing back to the reservation that was quickly shrinking behind us. "Nah, I told them I needed a break. I could use a breath of fresh air." He leaned in close to my ear and breathed deep. A laugh escaped deep from my belly while I clutched my ear and returned a playful punch to his own arm but not quite as soft as he had earlier. It was hard to pretend I was still annoyed.  
"Well where should I start?" I asked, feeling surprisingly open. He pursed his lips and thought for a second but it didn't take him long to reply. "Well I still don't even know your name." He said almost matter of factly, and slightly raised his left eyebrow. I bit my lip again, startled by the sudden butterflies in my chest, as I mentally prepared myself to relive and unleash all of my secrets to this shapeshifter- who was quite literally created to destroy my kind. Yet when I looked in his kind eyes, I felt no sign of fear or threat whatsoever...just compassion…and something stronger…

The scariest realization hitting me then, that the butterflies I felt in my chest weren't due to the anxiety of speaking up-but because of the man I was speaking to.

And I stupidly told him everything.


	12. Chapter 12: Tire Marks

**12\. Tire Marks**

We found ourselves in the secluded parking lot of Forks High School. It must've been well past midnight due to the emptiness of the buildings exterior as well as the dark neighboring city street. We'd been talking for hours and yet only two cars had driven by. The only vehicle in our proximity was the school bus that we were sitting on the roof of.  
The rain came in waves of a slight mist to more of a drizzle but we were both too caught up in the moment to really notice, or even mind. We wouldn't catch colds.  
I rose my hands towards the sky and stretched when Seth's questions came to a natural pause. Though he was also a member of the supernatural world, he was taking all of this new information pretty well. "Any other questions?" I huffed as I released and swung my arms back down. "You getting tired?" He asked, stretching slightly himself. I smiled and shook my head no. "Any other questions for me?" he said, trying to hide a yawn. I chuckled and tucked my knees into my chest. I found myself scanning the parking lot with my eyes again, even though I knew Forks was too small and trusting to invest in security cameras. Thinking of my next question carefully, I turned to face the nearby forest and laid down. My back curving with the roof of the yellow bus and my hair pooling underneath me. My neck angled where if I looked straight ahead I just saw Washington clouds but if I slightly tilted further, I could still see the empty school and world around me, just upside down.  
I wondered when the early bird teachers and staff would start arriving, and if I should be smart and say goodbye or ask Seth if we could go somewhere else and continue talking.  
Not wanting to sound clingy, I avoided that thought and went on to the next. "So what's going on with the treaty now?" I stared at the sky, not really knowing if I wanted to hear the answer. "Is it technically broken now since Carlisle had to cross into your territory? Or is it changed? Was it just a one time thing?" I thought back to Jake's reaction earlier. "I guess Jacob freaking out before answers my question of if I'm allowed to visit you." I tried to sound lighthearted but I couldn't fool myself. I could hear his heart fluttering faster. "So you wanna visit me again, huh?" Seth nudged my shoulder with his elbow. I rolled my eyes, struggling to not smirk. "Honestly, I have no idea. The treaty is definitely different now but we're all just not really talking about it...I guess. Trying to go back to how it was before but we all know it can't. Everything changed." His voice drifted off, holding something deeper than he was letting on. Carlisle was the only option the La Push shape-shifters had for Jake and Seth to recover properly. If Carlisle wasn't a vampire, he wouldn't have had the strength to re-break and align Jacob's bones or the senses to hear their heartbeats and blood pressure without human tools. The fact that these wolves wanted to deny that, or at least ignore that, immediately ticked me off. "The treaty exists as a precaution to make sure we won't hurt people, but you've seen firsthand and know that we won't. So why does it even have to exist still? After decades of silence and then seeing how we'll protect the town from…bad ones…" I slightly cringed at my lack of vocabulary. "How can they still not see that we're the good ones?" I had to bite my lip from saying more.  
After seeing Victoria and how she treated the ones she created, how she fooled them and masked their potential, it still made me shiver thinking how that could've so easily been me in her newborn army. Fighting with her just because I didn't know any better. How the girl named Bree, that the Volturi _murdered_ , could've been me. I looked up at Seth and his eyes were scrunched in frustration. "No, I know. You're right." He whispered.  
The sudden screech of tires skidding on pavement startled us both, the noise piercing our eardrums for a second for our powerful hearing. The black car sped into the schools parking lot and jolted to a stop, not bothering to even notice the yellow lines painted on the concrete. The wind carrying the cars scent smelled like new leather, fresh off the dealers lot. The windows were all blacked out but it didn't take long for the owner of this foreign vehicle to open the passenger side door and pop his all-too familiar bronze head out. "Get in. _Now_." Edward didn't have to yell for me to hear the anger in his voice. I looked back at Seth, shocked at my brothers behavior, but obeyed. "I guess that's our cue to leave," I muttered.  
I slid my back further around the curve of the bus roof and lifted my legs in the air, slowly leaning backwards until I found myself falling. My feet found their way over my head onto the ground effortlessly and I realized the sun was starting to rise. Birds were chirping and the world was beginning to wake up. My hair, now completely wet from being out in the drizzle so long, clung to my face and jacket. "When will I see you again?" I asked Seth, who was still sitting on top of the bus and just looked at me wide-eyed. He cautiously looked back at Edward and then me again. I chuckled and half-turned to walk towards Edwards new ride, combing my fingers through my tangled damp hair to try and get it into a bun and out of my face. "Uh, how about I'll find you next time," Seth voiced before jumping off the bus himself, but more discreet than I had, just hopping down and walking towards the forest. I appreciated him trying to be nonchalant but I had no doubt that he was referencing how I 'found' him earlier almost at the treaty border, so Edward was obviously up to speed on my adventure tonight due to his handy supernatural gift. "See ya later wolf boy," I yelled to him when I reached the car and grabbed the frame of the door. "Later purple eyes," He returned, while walking backwards into the beginning brush of woods. We held eye contact and smiles until he was too far into the greenery for even my eyes to keep up. I slowly crouched into the car and sunk into the leather seats, enjoying the few seconds of warmth before I'd feel the coldness of Edwards glare.  
I stared at his white knuckles clutching the steering wheel before looking at his face.  
Yep. Ice cold.

...

.

..

...

"I thought you liked Seth? Him being sincere and all that?" I slammed the car door and the 'pop' echoed through the garage. It was a little harder than intended but the frame was built stronger than the average. I knew that I was the one in trouble but I couldn't help but find myself getting angry as well. Edwards driving got us both home in no time, the sun still only beginning to rise. "Easy." Edward breathed, suddenly standing in front of me and slowly resting his hands on my shoulders. "This is Bella's first engagement present," he smirked. "It's tough but I'm sure you're tougher." My muscles slightly relaxed knowing Edward wasn't as angry as just a few minutes ago.  
"I do like Seth, it's not a matter of his character why we were worried about you tonight," we both started walking into the house while he continued to talk. I didn't miss the word "we"... "It's the fact that we had no idea where you were for the longest time." "EXACTLY!" Alice suddenly roared in my face. She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the living room where everyone... _everyone_...stood with hard eyes. I held my breath, ashamed as I stared into all of their faces. I was prepared to be scolded as Edward had begun to in the car. I swallowed hard and felt my stomach slightly turn. I followed Alice for a few more steps until she let go and motioned for me to sit on one of the plush couches. I could feel myself giving puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys, I just thought-" I paused, feeling suddenly very small again. If I learned anything tonight, it was definitely the fact that I didn't like to disappoint. "I don't know what I was thinking." I admitted, looking down at my hands. I heard Esme sigh first, releasing the tension in her shoulders. "We're not mad, sweetheart. In fact we're surprised that you wanted to venture out into town," she leaned down and brushed a strand of hair out of my face with her fingers. ",You could've just told us you wanted to go on a walk." She chuckled. Edward coughed slightly "Well she might've been motivated by a certain…crush," My thumb found its way into my palm, stabbing the skin with my fingernail. I tried my hardest not to draw blood. I looked at him in the corner of my eye and he tightened his mouth to keep from laughing. "That's why I couldn't see you?!" Alice yelled, still mad. "Finally we can talk about the elephant in the room!" Emmett busted out but Rose swiftly elbowed him in the stomach- knocking the wind out of him. I had never been more grateful.  
"It's not a crush," I nearly growled, looking directly at Edward. "Oh please, you nearly had him drooling when you 'dazzled' him earlier," I wanted Rosalie to zip over to him and knock the wind out of him too. "Although I do find it interesting that you chose Forks High School of all places to do it in."  
"Do it?!" Emmett huffed.  
"NOOOOO," I screamed. Edward was shaking his head no as well but nearly doubled over and laughing hysterically. I was mortified "Oh my god do you guys have to make me the butt of the joke every time? All we did was talk!" I buried my face into my hands. "Okay okay okay, c'mon- everyone out." Carlisle hushed, slightly smiling as well. Everyone slowly shuffled out but Esme and Carlisle but of course Emmett had to make one more comment "Love ya Purple!" I rolled my eyes and swore to myself that I would get back at him at some point today. "Okay, nothing more about Seth or anything like that." Carlisle started, taking a deep breath. "We're still not mad at you, not in the slightest." Esme added. "We told you that you weren't obligated to stay here, and we meant that. You have this second chance at life now and we've given you the tools to keep your secret and live among humans safely. We love you like our own child but everyone has had their fair share of needing to go off on their own adventure." Esme grabbed my hand and I squeezed, welcoming the gesture. "I know, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys or leave a note or anything. I didn't think that I'd have the urge to just walk out the front door and go somewhere." Carlisle was quick to respond, "You have no idea how normal of a response that is for our kind," It made sense. Knowing that you are capable of doing anything you wanted, at any moment. How much power runs through your body constantly. But I didn't have the urge to run to get away from this family, this amazing wonderful group of people, I only had the urge to explore- to see the world and to see...him. But the word _crush?_ It seemed so trivial, so cringe-worthy, so….cliche, ugh, no I couldn't even give that thought a second more of my time. "Thank you guys, for being so understanding," I stood up and wrapped my arms around them both. They both chuckled and guffawed. "And speaking of adventure- we both had a question for you. Well, more like a proposal." Esme chimed, suddenly giddy almost. I unwrapped my arms and narrowed my eyes slightly, but couldn't help but smirk at the hint of surprise. My eyes switching from Carlisle's muddy golden to Esme's bright topaz.  
"Well Bella and the others have already graduated according to the towns records but we still have to keep up appearances with you- and we wanted to give you the option of either continuing the charade of homeschooling or….you could start going to Forks High School. We were gonna ask you in a few weeks when summer was closer to the end but we figured with the wedding and you visiting the school tonight… we'd give you more time to sit on it." My body slowly found its way back into the couch, sinking into the fabric. "High school," I repeated. "Yeah, it's not exactly the most enticing time in everyone's life," Carlisle interjected "but we wanted to give you the option of feeling a little more...normal for lack of better term. You are still half human and deserve to have human experiences. We'll have to work on social behaviors and modern terms so you can blend in more," he smiled, "but if this sounds like something you'd want to do then we one-hundred percent stand by your decision. Or if not then we also stand by your decision. The ball is in your court." My frozen state was interrupted by my own laughter. "Is that one of the modern terms you're gonna teach me?" Esme erupted in her own magical fit of laughter and Carlisle just pressed his tongue inside his cheek, smirking as well.  
Alice suddenly fluttered in the room holding long grey bags, evenly distributed on both arms. I couldn't count how many she had, enough to almost lay under her chin, but she held them all effortlessly. "If you ask my opinion I think you should go to a much more exciting high school, one with flare- maybe even uniforms." Her tone was much lighter, I was obviously forgiven. "Well we'd need an answer by the wedding to get you registered and what not but take some time to think about it, sweetheart," Esme concluded, wrapping her arms around Carlisle's and kissing his shoulder, still chuckling.  
My mind was slightly overwhelmed, the thought of waking up everyday and seeing kids my age, kids who don't even know what kind of world they live in. Their biggest worries being someone who didn't text them or what they're gonna wear to the next dance. It could be slightly refreshing...or possibly infuriating. Alice suddenly placed her elbows on the back of the couch I was sitting on, her arms now garment-bag free. "And while you're thinking about this decision, we gotta go to Bella's to do a little wedding planning fashion show. C'mon!" My head was thinking at a mile a minute, so running away to Bella's seemed like a much better alternative than sitting in my bedroom pondering options for hours. "Isn't it super early for dress fittings, Alice?" I asked, turning my head slightly to try and look at the clock peeking out from the kitchen. "It's almost 9am." She said matter-of-factly. "Besides, Charlie wants to go fishing all the time and I need a final fit for his tux too so the earlier the better." I took in a deep breath, attempting to absorb any sense of relief that I could. Sleep sounded like a better distraction to me than playing dress-up with Alice but it wasn't guaranteed that sleep would take over right away. I had heard stories about Charlie and his charming dad behavior, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad.  
Maybe Alice would force Bella into some high heels. That would definitely be a great distraction.


	13. Chapter 13: Pins and Needles and Wolves

"Ouch, you got me, Alice." Charlie huffed and grumbled. He hated playing dress up almost as much as Bella. "Sorry, Charlie," Alice's trilling voice responded. "How's that?"  
"I'm bleeding on it." "You're fine. Didn't break the skin - trust me."

"Why do my eyes have to be closed?" Bella demanded, hesitating by the living room's door frame. "Thirty seconds, please, Bella," Alice announced. "Your patience will be rewarded."

"Humph," Charlie added.

Bella started tapping her foot, I could tell she was taking Alice's request literally and counting to thirty in her head.  
"Okay, Bella, open!" I grabbed a pillow and placed it on my crossed legs. Bella and Charlie's house was very cozy and warm, their sweet honey and lavender scent, with somewhat more of a musk from Charlie's end, flooding every inch and corner. "Aw. Dad. Don't you look - " "Silly?" Charlie interrupted.

"I was thinking more like _debonair_ "

Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux. "Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot." I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. "No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot."  
"She's right, Dad. You look fabulous! What's the occasion?" Alice rolled her eyes. "It's the final check on the fit. For all of you."  
Bella's eyebrows shot up in surprise and her gaze landed on the only white garment bag in the pile. "What are all the other bags filled with?" She asked. "Options! For bridesmaid dresses and the veil of course, plus the honeymoon dress. I picked _my_ favorites but I suppose you get the final say." Bella opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out as she shrugged- almost just silently saying that she really doesn't care which one. I can't blame her, although she's very lucky that Alice has such good taste.  
"Oh my gosh you're impossible sometimes. C'mon, both of you upstairs," Alice turned around to face me and roll her eyes before grabbing the pile of bags. I quickly stood up while Bella brushed past so I could attempt to voice my own thoughts in a mere whisper. "At least she doesn't love hot pink and ruffles," Bella nodded and smiled but her facial expression gave it away that she was deep in thought somewhere else. "I'll be right back down to un-pin you Charlie!" Alice chimed down the stairs, just behind us now. "The sooner the better," I heard him grumble.

..

..

Hours later my head finally found its way slumped onto my pillow. I didn't want to look at another flower, ribbon, pearl, heel, or anything wedding related for the next decade. Maybe a solid 4 hours of sleep though would do the trick.  
The wedding was quickly approaching in just a few days. Bella had picked August 13th which only gave Alice barely **two months** to plan everything if they wanted to keep the late summer date. Between Bella's graduation, the battle, Victoria the Volturi, and Seth and Jake getting injured- it was already late June before everything had calmed down and Bella gave Alice full reign. Alice was handling it magically-ordering everything and scheduling perfectly. The ceremony and reception would be in the backyard while tents would be tied up and food would be catered. From the little I had already seen- it was going to be breathtaking.

Human steps slowly dragged into my room and a mass slumped into my bed with me, huffing on impact with the sheets. I smelled her before I turned my head and matched eye contact. "Are you doing okay?" I asked Bella. She quietly groaned in response. I scoot over in my bed to give her more room but I remained under the covers-my body unwilling to get up. The sun was shining, just barely enough through the clouds that always threatened to open up with rain, into my bedroom windows to illuminate the comforter, slightly warming my toes. She quietly joined me and covered herself as well, cocooning us both in the thick fabric. She took in a deep breath and released slowly…I debated what I wanted to say next.  
"Are you happy?" I reluctantly asked. Her eyes shot to mine. "Of course," she almost whimpered. "Are you having second thoughts?" I could hear her heartbeat quickly gaining pulse. "No, not at all." She propped her head on her elbow and took in another deep breath. "I'm ready to marry Edward and I'm absolutely ready to become a vampire to spend forever with him… it's just the audience that I'm nervous about." She slumped back down into the pillows. "And the fact that Alice just showed me the heels I'm supposed to wear down the aisle," she grinned. I took a deep breath of my own, unaware of how tense I was before her response.  
"I saw Jake last night," I mumbled. I tried to analyze her reaction but I couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling- there was no hint of sadness or anger or excitement, almost nothing. She was learning to hide her thoughts well.  
"Did he seem okay?" She asked, sounding...numb. "Angry at me, per usual. He almost hit me with his motorcycle."  
"He was on his bike?!" She nearly yelled, clearly the emotions coming through now. "Oh yeah. He seemed normal though. We didn't say too much...I almost walked over the treaty line," I rubbed my forehead in embarrassment, remembering the fact of how bad it could've been if I'd stepped into La Push by myself. Bella's face was in shock, her mouth agape at the fact I was telling her about all of this so nonchalantly.

"Did you invite him to the wedding?" I asked and almost immediately regretted the words. She turned her head into the pillow again and moaned in exhausted stress. I decided to drop the subject. I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes, deciding that I shouldn't let my delirious and exhausted brain come up with any more Jake questions. _Did you invite the Clearwaters?_ I desperately wanted to ask.

I tried to focus on my breathing and the sound of the wind hitting the leaves outside- pretending that they were actually waves on a beach crashing into the shoreline. After a few minutes, Bella rolled on her side again- face pillow free. I thought she might fall asleep next to me, the number of beds in this house being limited, but I could hear her slight movements as she lay restless.

I tried to imagine what I would do if I were in Bella's shoes. Being human, being eighteen years old and falling for a vampire. To have to create a show for your friends and family that you're living a normal life when you could be running from people like Victoria or James.  
And then for her to choose a day where she wants Edward to bite her. For her to give up everything that she's _ever known_ for her _entire life_.  
I would be nervous too.

" **WAIT A MINUTE** ," I shouted as I shot up. Bella startled awake "Oh my god what?" she replied groggily. "What?" Alice yelled from her room down the hall. "Bella- you're giving up _everything_ in a few weeks," I shoved the comforter off and stood up on the bed. "Like literally everything- you won't be able to go out in daylight in the public, never being able to eat food again, never sleeping again-" Bella loudly sighed and sat up, "Violet, I-" "No, no wait- you haven't even experienced _drinking_ yet and you're about to give that up forever! Or gambling, or tattoos, or piercings, or sex- I mean you and Edward will still be able to do that last one but," "Violet I don't _need_ any of that stuff to feel fulfilled in life. Look at me, do I look like the type?" Alice and Rosalie started peeking around the corner into the room, Alice grinning ear to ear already knowing what I was about to say. "YES! You do look like the type, because you wanna know why?" Bella rolled her eyes with her mouth open, confused. " **BACHELORETTE PARTY** ," Alice and I yelled at the same time.  
Rosalie instantly smirked "Oh hell yes." She calmly added, almost sounding like a chill version of Emmett. "No!" Bella yelled. " _Yes_." Alice crossed her arms, probably already forming a game plan in her head of an itinerary. "No!" Bella repeated, laughing.  
"Bella, come on- yes! This will be your last big _human-experience_ filled trip. You're getting married for crying out loud, lets celebrate you like normal people!" Bella looked at all three of us girls and struggled with an answer. "I...guys...I-" Rosalie stepped forward and crossed her arms over her chest before taking a deep breath to respond. "Bella. I may not agree with every single choice you and Edward make in your relationship," Bella looked at her fidgeting hands, anxious that all attention was on her. "But I think this would be a great idea. You deserve to see a little bit of the world you're giving up. Believe me, your life as a vampire can be filled with pleasure and ample bliss but we all know that it's not the same." I hopped off the bed and sat on the floor, my legs crossed so I could see everyone's faces and emotions as best I could.  
"We won't go crazy Bella, don't worry about that. Tell Charlie we're having a girls weekend before the big day, shit, we can even invite the guys if you want." I puckered my lips in disapproval "That wouldn't be a _real_ bachelorette party thoooough," I said, only half joking.  
Bella's warmth in her eyes suddenly changed into a suspicious squint, with a subtle grin. "I will go anywhere you guys want, AS LONG as I consent to every activity we do," "well duh," I added "Edward knows where I am so he doesn't freak," "You'll have two vampires watching you, but okay," her grin grew wider and suddenly so was Alice. "AND Violet will come and experience everything too,"  
Rosalie started laughing from her belly. "WHAT," I yelled. "Gotta take your fair share of what you dish out, V," Rose calmly stated, still laughing. "Um, _I'm_ not the one getting married and _I'm_ still half a vampire." " _You_ can still eat and drink though," "Among other things," Alice winked.  
I was speechless. My heart started beating faster, excited that they wanted me to tag along but genuinely shocked that they were going to include me in the festivities. "Aren't we forgetting that I also look like I'm sixteen? Seventeen like _max_." I rubbed my forehead, baffled at how they think we could pull this off. "Not when Alice is done with you," Rose smiled and put her hands on her hips. Bella was now the one crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not that far off from seventeen either… those are my rules." She shrugged. I've been outnumbered. Blindsided.

Alice clapped her hands and started walking towards the door, "Okay, I'll go call my guy for some fake ID's, Rose help Violet pack and I'll start digging in my closets for extra outfits, oh my god I haven't had a good party since the 90's, we _have_ to go somewhere awesome- Bella please don't disappoint me when I ask you this: Seattle or road trip to Vegas?" Bella and I's eyes widened in unison, "Definitely Seattle," Alice sighed quickly "When you get married we're dragging your ass somewhere cool, _capeesh_?" She suddenly pointed to me.

"Are we actually doing this?" I said, staring at Bella in shock. "Yep, I just texted Emmett to let Jazz and Edward know-" Rose said before Bella could respond "I'm gonna go look in my closet too for anything you guys could wear," Bella's cell started vibrating while Rose and Alice left the room. "Hey you," Bella breathed into her phone.  
I gulped. Well….. **that happened.**

 **Seth POV:**  
"Stop laughing, this is serious,"  
"It sure as hell is, boy, I can't believe this is your life now". I could feel the anger in my stomach bubbling. "C'mon George, cut him some slack." Emily looked at me with soft eyes while putting down a basket of rolls. George, one of my uncles from the tribe, traveled into town for a pack meeting. Sam didn't give us many details but I already knew it was about the Cullens. George had gotten word of my imprinting on Violet and decided he had plenty of jokes to share. He was still belly laughing when he picked up a roll and shoved half of it in his mouth. "Your dad is probably rolling in his grave," he managed to choke out while still laughing.  
Suddenly my fist smacked down on the table, making every empty plate and glass set up for dinner shake and the room full of other wolves and their partners quiet down. "Do _not_ talk about my dad or my private life when you're sitting in this goddamn house," I yelled.

"Whoa whoa whoa, let's get some air dude, come on," Quil grabbed my shoulder and pat my back. "Oh calm down, boy, you'll give yourself grey fur," George spat out in shock. Everyone in the house was staring as I shot up and followed Quil and Embry outside.

I shoved the screen door open and tried to control my breathing, the Washington rain slammed against our dirt driveway but the sun was trying to break through the overcast. "Don't listen to him man, he's just messing around. You know he wishes he was still involved in more pack stuff," Quil said, softly so the extra ears inside wouldn't pick it up.  
George used to be one of the main pack leaders but one day he decided he wanted out. There used to be way less vampire activity and George wanted to leave Washington, go to college, have a shot at some normalcy. After years and eventually decades of not transitioning into wolf form, your body loses the instinct. The magic, or whatever you want to call it, dries up and you begin to age like normal. This was the first time we had seen George show up in years, so we all knew it had to be a special meeting.  
"I know, I'm sorry…" I finally managed to squeeze out. "I"m just on edge. Not knowing what's gonna go down tonight," Quil and Embry looked at each other warily. They had no idea what was gonna go down either, but they all had a weird knot in their bellies.  
"At least you know she's safe though, no matter what goes down. She's a loophole." Embry said, patting my shoulder to try and comfort me. I grabbed the wooden railing of the deck we were standing on and let the rain cool my skin. There were still so many complications. Yes she was safe, for now, but how would we work? Would I have to be like George, give up my wolf form in order to love her properly? Leave the pack so she wouldn't have to worry about trespassing La Push property? And then what? I start aging while she continues to be this flawless angel? She doesn't age right? There were still so many unknowns to her own abilities…. And who was I to even assume we'll be together? I mean, everyone so far has partnered with their imprint but what if I was gonna be the odd man out? How would we even work?  
"Dude, you're gonna pass out, take a breath" Quil nervously laughed. I released the air I didn't realize I was holding in my lungs and rubbed my eyes- trying to clear the anxiety from my face. "Let's just get this over with," I muttered before taking in another deep breath and walking back inside without looking at the both of them.

"See, they didn't leave, c'mon guys I made your plates-" Emily waved us over with a warm smile. She really was awesome. Always supportive of each of us, always taking care of the pack. Sam doesn't realize how lucky he is.  
The three of us sat down and I avoided eye contact with George, knowing he'd give me some stupid smug look about successfully rubbing me the wrong way. Billy threw another log into the fireplace before wheeling over to his spot at the crowded dinner table and putting a napkin into the collar of his shirt. "Alright now. I know this is a rather informal pack meeting, usually we don't do it with forks and dinner knives in our hands but I have a feeling this is going to be a rather long discussion and I want the tension to be at a minimum. I'm looking at you George," Billy tilted his head down and gave George a stern look. George sarcastically put both his hands up silently in defense.  
A whopping twenty-six of us all sat at the enormous table made of multiple folding card tables as well as our regular dining room table that sits here. Sam, Billy Black, Emily, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, Leah, Collin, Brady, Jake, my mother, and other cousins who turned into young wolves when the newborn army came near town. The other seats were occupied by their parents, who weren't all pack members but knew of the circumstances and still had a slight say in what happens to our reservation.

My mother gave me a concerned but warm look before paying her attention back to Billy. She had been wary of not stepping on my toes ever since finding out I imprinted. She knew my emotions were still heightened and my stress levels were through the roof dealing with everyone's judgment. As if I could control any of it.

"The last time I was in touch with some of you was for a warning that our boys, and Leah," he added with a slight grin, "were about to go into the biggest battle of their lives. These kids did us proud, protecting those they love, and making sure the reservation remained safe. Everything they did was what our ancestors intended their gift to be. Some left with injuries," Billy looked up at me and then Jake, "while others left stronger than when they had arrived." Jake barely looked up from his plate, clearly disinterested in talking.

Billy's look became darker, while he looked down at the table- his food untouched. "As you all know, Carlisle Cullen had to come onto the property to help our boys heal from their unique injuries. I can say with certainty that without the help of the Cullens, we would not be celebrating the victory as we are today and instead would be in mourning of those who perished."  
"Those monsters wouldn't have even been near our town if it weren't for the Cullens in the first place," someone muttered. Billy held his hand up to motion their silence. "What we must discuss tonight, _mutually_ , is how this affects our treaty with Cullens. The treaty was written decades ago and, considering other factors are now in the mix" Billy looked at me again "we must decide how the treaty will change among the times we are currently in."  
The room was suddenly rowdy, as if a radio had been slowly turned up in volume. "Are you hearing yourself Black?" "How can you be saying this?" "You want them to be able to come onto our land? Put all of our peoples lives in danger?" "We're going to change years of history because one of them fell in love with a leech?"

I didn't feel the growth of my anger, it was just suddenly bursting out of me. My entire body was vibrating before I even knew it and I ran out the back door before feeling every cell in my skin explode.  
I gave into my instincts and just started running.  
I could hear my mother screaming my name in the distance.  
I just couldn't stop running.


	14. Chapter 14: Vegas in Seattle

**14\. Vegas in Seattle**

"I miss you already."  
"I don't need to leave, I can stay," I heard Bella mutter in between Edwards lips. _Do not let her back out, Edward. We're literally leaving within the hour._ I yelled at him in my thoughts, knowing he would hear me.  
"No, no. It's your bachelorette party. You have to go. Besides, Emmett and Jasper want to go hunting one last time, and the girls are really excited to go with you on this trip."  
I tried to block out their kissing noises as I helped Alice carry down our suitcases to the car.  
"Bachelor and bachelorette parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point."  
"True," Edward muttered as their make out session continued.  
I nearly ran out the front door to try and block out the noises as much as I could.  
"Oh my god how do you guys stand hearing them suck face all the time?" I muttered while shoving the last piece of luggage in the trunk of our car. Edward _insisted_ that we take Bella's Mercedes Guardian that he gifted her as an early wedding present to make sure that her travels would be absolutely safe.  
"You get used to it," Rosalie answered behind me. "It sounds weird but we all do it, you learn to drown each other out" she shrugged. She had a point, as I was the only single one in the house.  
"Well maybe I'll meet someone in Seattle so I can suck _their_ face all night and annoy all of _you_ ," I said, curtly.  
"Finger crossed, hot head," she joked while hopping into the passenger seat of the car. Everyone slowly trickled out of the house to say their goodbyes and pack any last minute items.  
"You're packing a pillow? With Alice driving I don't think we'll be in the car for more than an hour." Rosalie commented, laughing.  
"Alright my ladies," Emmett's voice boomed as he stuck his head in Rosalie's window. "You," he pointed at me "Go nuts and live a little," I rolled my eyes with a smile. "You," he then pointed to Rosalie "Yes?" she smirked. "Don't break too many hearts, ya drop dead gorgeous son of a gun," he grabbed her face with both of his hands and kissed her with more passion than I'd ever seen before. Edward was always so...gentle with Bella...this was so much more intense than that.  
I quickly averted my eyes but I could feel my cheeks getting warm with blush. It was weird seeing Emmett be so serious, so lustful, with Rose. Usually I only saw the big-brother/funny-guy attitude with him.  
I wondered if I would ever find something like all my vampire family members had. Someone to lean on for eternity. Someone to experience immortality with… if I even _had_ forever. It was still so uncertain what surprises my hybrid state would bring.  
Carlisle packed 6 vials of venom shots for the 2 day adventure, just in case.  
Alice had booked the presidential suite at one of the best hotels in Seattle for the "grand experience" as she put it. Everyone was a little nervous when we revealed what our plans were, Edward Carlisle and Esme the most, but they knew we would be smart and truly agreed that Bella deserved to have a bachelorette party like other humans. We didn't have to explain ourselves too much.  
Alice was suddenly opening the driver side door and hopped in her seat. I couldn't help but notice the small black leather clutches she had in her hands. "For you," she said handing me one, "for you," she handed another to Rosalie. "for Bella," she tossed it in the empty back seat next to me "and for me." I slowly turned the wallet trying to find the opening. "Ooooh what's my name this time," Rose commented. " _This_ time? How often do guys you do this?" I chuckled.  
"Well we have to have them changed every time we move, and Carlisle needs the proper documents to work," Alice shrugged. I felt silly after asking. Oh...d _uh_ I scolded myself.  
"I think you guys are all set, just missing the bride," Jasper remarked before shutting the trunk. I rolled down my window and could see Edward and Bella walking down the front porch steps as _painfully slow_ as they could muster.  
 _Honk honk!_ Alice tapped the horn, startling Bella. "Oh my god I'm coming," she muttered under her breath, but we could all hear it.  
"What are _you_ guys gonna do now that your gals will be out of town?" I narrowed my eyes, mainly asking Emmett and Jasper. "We might go to Canada, maybe find a cool casino or something," Jasper shrugged. "Vampires like to gamble?" I asked "Isn't that cheating the system or something?" Edward groaned. "We are _only_ hunting, I hate everything about casinos."  
Jazz laughed. "We try to stick to the slot machines, keep it as fair as possible." he winked, ignoring Edwards complaining.  
"Or maybe we'll surprise you guys and show up," Emmett joked, still stealing kisses from Rosalie. "Absolutely not. It'll be hard enough to get Bella to loosen up with just us, she doesn't need a bigger audience."  
Esme and Carlisle cleared their throats to signal they were approaching the car. "Alright, all of you guys be safe and call us if you run into any trouble." Esme walked up to my window and gave me soft, yet concerned, eyes. "You sure you'll be okay? I feel like you've grown up overnight." I smiled and leaned out to give her a hug. "I promise. I'm excited to experience some of the real world with my family."  
Carlisle stepped towards us and placed a hand on Esme's shoulder while we separated and I sat back down in my seat. "High School is going to be awfully boring compared to this weekend, I'm afraid." Carlisle joked.  
"Something tells me that I won't mind the boring life after this wedding is over," I muttered, grinning sarcastically. "Hey, you're going to be begging for my wedding planning skills when it's your turn" Alice nearly shouted on the defense. "Kidding, kidding... geez."  
I rolled up my window as Alice purred the engine to life and slowly rolled out of the driveway. Emmett gave the trunk two taps while we passed him and we hit the main road.  
I leaned my head against the window and shut my eyes. The sun was beginning to set, thankfully we'd left right on time, so we'd arrive at the hotel with the entire night to begin our shenanigans.  
"My fake ID name is _Jessica?!_ " Bella yelled as my eyes snapped open. The rest of the car ride was filled with booming laughter.

 **Carlisle POV**

"Okay, okay, we'll just start with hunting… but _try_ to think about what you want to do afterwards! You only get married a handful of times," Emmett joked with the boys as they walked towards the back forest. I shook my head and took a deep breath before turning to my personal slice of perfection. "And then there were two." I rubbed her arms while trying to read her expression.  
"They're going to be okay," "I know." "They deserve to have some fun," "I know that too," she bit her lip and looked down, refusing to meet my eyes. I leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead while patiently waiting for her to tell me more.  
"I was just excited to have a real teenager in the house. Now she's off to go age ten years. Next month I'll bet we'll be having _another_ wedding." She confessed while playing with the collar of my shirt, still avoiding my eyes. "Oh come now, shes not at that point yet. She still has a lot to learn from us," I put my hand under her chin to force her to look at me. "From _you_ ," I added.  
"Bella and Edward will get married, they'll choose when they want to change her, and things will finally start to calm down."  
Suddenly her lips and body were clinging onto mine. "I love you,"  
Even after all of these decades those words made me smile from ear to ear.  
"You wanna go watch that cowboy show you like so much? We rarely get the entire house to ourselves these days." Esme and I's smile quickly faded just as fast as the wind changed. We both smelled him instantly.  
Looking into the forest where they could hear leaves rustling, the opposite direction of where the boys had disappeared to go hunting, out walking came Seth Clearwater.  
I could feel Esme slightly relax and she didn't hesitate to greet him. "Well isn't this a lovely surprise."  
"Um, hi Mr. and Mrs. Cullen…" the boy was obviously nervous, and already beginning to sweat with anxiety. "How can we help you tonight, Seth?" I added, looking behind him to see if any more pack members were following. "It's just me," he said, obviously noticing the slight shift of my eyes. "I was wondering if Violet was home?" he sounded unsure, almost doubtful that he should've asked.  
"Oh shoot, you just missed her, dear. The girls went out of town for the weekend to celebrate before the wedding." Esme was always such a great host.  
Seth rubbed his face, his calm front clearly fading. "In that case, can I talk to you guys?" I was instantly baffled, and suddenly serious. "Of course, why don't you come in and we'll talk in the dining room. I think we have some leftover treats from Edward and Bella's cake tasting." Seth nodded and grinned, but the smile never reached his eyes. I watched him closely as we walked towards the front door, my anxiety growing.  
Perhaps things weren't calming down any time soon.

 **Seth POV**

Carlisle was staring into the wood of the kitchen table, his mind a million miles away.  
My own mind kept racing from angry, to sad, back to angry. "But Violet isn't in any danger?" Esme asked, her face in pain. "No, there's a strict pack law on protecting those we imprint on."  
"But if she were to go onto the reservation," my eyes looked down at my balled up fists. "She would technically be fine, but the treaty would still be broken...and all bets would be off for the rest of you." We sat in silence for a few moments. "Does Violet know anything about all of this yet?" I sighed deeply. "No, she had plenty of questions the last time I saw her though so I wanted to update her tonight. You said she'll be back Saturday?" Carlisle finally looked up at me and slightly smiled "Yes, the day before the wedding. I'll get you something though, hold on," he got up from the table, surprisingly at human speed. Esme waited until he had left the room, but I was almost positive he could still hear our conversation.  
"So...does Violet have a choice in all of this?" the confusion was clear in her voice. "A choice?" I asked. "I don't exactly know how this all works...but if she doesn't...want to be with you-" the dots finally connected. "Oh, _yes_ , absolutely she 100% has a choice. She would never be forced into anything," she nodded, but I could tell she was still nervous.  
"I don't really know how it all works either, but every story I've ever heard, or seen with my own eyes, is truly raw and real. Imprinting isn't magic, it doesn't fog our brain with false pretenses or intense love spells… if anything, the way I describe that night of Bella's grad party, was that it actually _cleared_ the fog. I saw Violet for the first time and everything instantly made sense. I knew that she was the one I had to protect, the only one that truly mattered," My eyes snapped wide "No offense,"  
Esme was smiling now, the tension in the room melting. "None taken."  
"'I won't lie, if Violet isn't ready for this… for me...I'd be crushed. But I'd also always be waiting. I'll always support her and protect her. That will never change." I started rubbing my temples, trying to control my frustration as I remembered what the pack had told me about the meeting when I was running earlier.  
"I don't exactly know how all of this will work out. If Violet, when i do decide to tell her eventually, wants to be with me...I don't know how we could intertwine our families. I don't know where we would live or how La Push could continue to be a part of my future. But I'm also growing to be okay with that. We'll figure something out." I shrugged and put my hands back on the table. It wasn't the greatest answer but it was the only one I had.  
Esme's hand fell on top of mine as she smiled. Her skin was so much colder than Violets. "Thank you. You've been nothing but good to her," she said, gently squeezing my hand. "To all of us," Carlisle added as he walked back into the room.  
My eyes instinctively fell on to the object he was holding. "Here- in case you need to reach any of us." He put a piece of paper in front of me and it listed everyone's numbers. Carlisle's cell phone, work phone, Esme's cell, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, and even Bella's number… and then at the bottom was Violet's.  
"If any news comes up from the pack or the rest of your family members, please, don't hesitate to call. If you need _anything_ , or need to find one of us- please reach out." He gave me a soft smack on the shoulder and grinned at me.  
It was such a small gesture, but I grinned back- knowing that it was a huge sign of trust.  
"If that's all though, I do believe I promised my girl here a date night," Carlisle straightened and walked towards Esme. I nodded and grabbed the paper full of contacts before heading to the front door. "Take care of our girl, Seth," Esme added before I shut the door behind me.  
 _Our girl_ I repeated with the biggest grin on my face.

 **Violet POV**

"Holy…" "Shit." I finished Bella's sentence. We walked into the presidential suite of the Four Seasons hotel in Seattle and dragged our jaws against the floor. Warm light filled every room, multiple couches and fireplaces against the walls, rich shades of terracotta and chocolate accents in every corner, while the main living room looked out to the waters of Elliot Bay.  
A cork popping startled Bella and I back to reality "HAPPY BACHELORETTE PARTY!" Alice and Rosalie screamed. Champagne flutes were shoved into our hands and Bella was suddenly wearing a plastic crown and faux silk sash that said "Bride To Be" in rose gold glitter. Her cheeks were bright red, her heartbeat racing. "Oh my god, we aren't starting slow huh?" She nervously laughed.  
I raised my glass and jokingly clinked it against hers "To Bella and Edward" I yelled, laughing at the same time. " _To Bella and Edward!_ " Alice and Rose mimicked.  
Bella and I looked at each other and took a sip at the same time… and instantly had the same scrunched up nose reaction. "That… was not as sweet as I thought it would be." I commented, slightly coughing as I swallowed the room temperature alcohol.  
Rose laughed as she walked to the mini fridge tucked in a corner and pulled out a small orange juice. "From what I can remember, it tastes a lot better cold. And juice always helps." She poured some in both of our glasses and then her and Alice zipped past us to unpack our luggage.  
I tried another sip and it was surprisingly better… _a lot_ better actually. I guess this is what the hype is all about.  
I took a few more swigs before I felt my cell buzz in the back pocket of my jeans. I instinctively rolled my eyes.  
"There's your fiance, texting to check up on you," I joked to Bella. She had just set her empty flute down on the counter and was opening the mini fridge for another one. I chuckled.

 **Hey stranger, it's Seth. :) AKA wolf boy**

My heart nearly jumped out of my throat. _Holy shit_ I mentally screamed. _How did he even get my number?_ I bit my lip to try and hide my smile.

 **Guess who just had their first sip of champagne? ;) Also- hi!**

 **Oh shit, look at you bad ass. I take it that means Edward didn't kill you after our all-nighter?**

 **Ha ha, no. But they definitely all ripped me a new one. My phone was nearly super glued to my hand after that. Still learning how to be a proper member of society I guess. Lol**

 ****Our replies were sent within seconds of each other.

 **I'm sorry. Next time we hang out I'll teach you how to be more responsible. ;)**

 **Oh there's gonna be a next time?**

 **Well I do believe I'll be seeing you at a certain wedding this weekend.**

My heart was racing faster than I'd ever heard it before.  
"Violet!" Alice's voice snapped me back to reality. "Dear lord, what has gotten you in another dimension?" I shook my head, smiling, trying to snap out of it. "Sorry, what's up?"  
I set my, now empty, glass on the counter as well and headed to the bedroom.  
"I am _not_ wearing that." Bella laughed, clearly more relaxed and holding her third flute of bubbly. "Come _on,_ Bella. You look so good in white! What are you scared of?" Alice groaned.  
"I'm scared I'll fall and flash the entire city! These dresses are so short, Alice. Plus…" she bit her lip. "I didn't shave that high up," she muttered, crossing her legs and burying her face into her hands while she sat on the huge king bed.  
"Ooooooh," I groaned "I didn't either," I added. It hadn't even been twelve hours since we decided to go on this trip, and I didn't even think about...personal grooming.

Alice pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated that she knew what we were going to say before we even had time to spit it out. "Alright, alright, there's a spa downstairs, I'll call down and see if they can take you both in. But don't bitch to me when you're sore later."  
I gulped. "Sore?"  
"Well with the wedding in literally three days, you both are getting waxed so this problem won't come up again."  
Rose was elegantly still hanging up clothes while this was all going down. "I think that's one of the best things about being a vampire, no shaving. Once you pluck it's gone forever. That and no periods," she commented.  
"A wax..." We could handle that, right?


	15. Chapter 15: Rohypnol

**15\. Rohypnol**

 **Violet POV**

"Alice, are you _sure_?" I managed to spit out while gawking at my own reflection. We were back in our room after a rushed trip to the hotel spa and I tried to ignore the dull throbbing on my lower half. Alice had picked out the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen for me to wear tonight.

Bella was hesitant but after a few more glasses of mimosa, courtesy of the Four Seasons, she agreed to go dancing at a nearby club.

I turned around in the mirror to look at every inch of fabric hugging my curves. It was long sleeved, black sequins with a slight holographic shine, and deep v-neck that reached below my sternum. I was suddenly grateful that Alice made us get waxed, as the dress quickly ended at my mid-thigh.

"Here," Rosalie tapped my elbow while sitting on the bed. "Just in case." I looked down at her hand to see one of the venom syringes that Carlisle had packed.

Rose was also sporting a mid-thigh dress that was ruby red, crushed velvet, and matched her lipstick. I had never seen so much of her skin.  
Emmett was right about his "breaking hearts" warning.

I quickly pushed the vial of immortality into my veins and the ache between my thighs quickly vanished.

"Of course I'm sure! We all look _amazing_!" She nearly shrieked.

Alice was dressed the most "modest" if you could even call it that. Her dress was also short but with huge bell sleeves and in a mesmerizing shade of lavender. It reminded me of her maid of honor dress she would be putting on in just a few days.

"And for the woman of the hour— ta da!" Alice threw her hands out and stepped to the side for Bella to walk in. My mouth froze open.  
"Bella! You look amazing. We have to send a picture to Edward." Rose quickly chimed. It was the perkiest I had ever heard her.

Bella's dress was pure white. It laid perfectly on her chest, as it was strapless, and had a similar look to a corset bodice with a pencil skirt to match. "You guys... this feels like, I don't know, too much for me." She rubbed her temples, clearly anxious.

"Bella, you are perfect." I spat out. "Come on, pictures of all of you to send to your guys," I persuaded.

Individually I helped take photos of each stunning Cullen (and Cullen to-be) woman to send to their phones. "They just might drive all the way down here after they see you guys," I chuckled while sending the last of the pictures.

"Okay, V, your turn." My hand was suddenly being tugged. " _My_ turn? I don't have anyone to tease!" I laughed. "We still have to document how hot you are! And... I think there's a certain werewolf you could send it to," Alice wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Oh my god, _stop_ , tha- that would be so awkward. It's not like that." I shook my head and scrunched my nose.

"Okay, okay, but we still have to remember this night. Now pose!" Rose snagged my phone and gently pushed me by the fireplace.

I felt so amazing. So... freeing? I couldn't explain it. Ever since we found out about the venom healing me, and the chaos of Victoria ending once and for all... I didn't feel like I was made of glass anymore. Being a newborn had my emotions all over the place, my bloodlust sporadic and unexpected… but tonight, I felt so _in control_ of my vampire side but also empowered by my womanhood.

"Stick out your butt more, woman!" Alice shouted. My head fell back with a deep belly laugh. "Okay, okay, let's hit the town! We're here to celebrate our amazing bride!"

Bella took in a deep breath and threw her plastic bride-to-be getup on over her dress and tried to put on her best smile. "Take it easy on me tonight, okay?"

Easy? Oh Bella...what about the Cullen lifestyle was _ever_ easy?

 **Seth POV**

My leg wouldn't. stop. shaking.

She was _drinking_? **And** out of town? I finally get her number to find more about this girl and now she's off partying and won't even respond to my— okay chill the fuck out Seth. She's fine. She's not your responsibility. But _every fiber in my being is screaming the opposite_.

I was pacing now. Up and down along the shoreside back in La Push.

Do I tell her? No, that would freak her out.

But if I keep it a secret... would she be mad? She deserves to know, to have it all laid out on the table. But how could I explain that it's not just some weird fate thing... that it's not a force of the unnatural, but a force of soul-finding.

I pulled at my hair in frustration for the hundredth time in the last hour.

Not soon enough, my phone buzzed in my hand and I opened the message. _Her_ message.

 **What are YOUR plans for tonight, Clearwater?**

 **Haha, just hanging out at the beach. Definitely not as exciting as your night probably is. :)**

 **Ooooo send me a f pictur**

 _Ugh, she was definitely drinking._

 **It's too dark, ya goof!**

 **For ur eyes maybeee. ;P**

 **You'll just have to come see it for yourself in person.**

As soon as I hit 'send' my gut rang with guilt, reminding me of the pack meeting earlier.

Any minute now I would be bombarded with questions and lectures from those I left behind but I didn't have the energy to hear their bullshit anymore. We all knew the Cullen's weren't a threat, they were just too scared to not have a purpose anymore if we didn't have an enemy.  
I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and relieve the pressure building in my head when my phone buzzed and lit up again.

Oh _fuck_.

It was a picture of Violet, two actually. One with her biting her lip and looking right into the camera lens, and the other with her laughing. She was so beautiful. So perfect.

And her fucking body... _ugh_. It sent a spark straight to my groin.

 _This woman is going to be the death of me._

 **Violet POV**

 _No, no, no, nonononono_ I screamed in my head while slightly bouncing on my toes. "Just swallow it!" Rosalie yelled over the club's music. Bella was already coughing next to me while I forced myself to gulp down the burning liquid. The venom in my mouth tingled with the new sensation. I groaned as I quickly picked up the lime sitting on the bar counter and bit into the sour fruit. "That _tasted_ like how cigarettes _smell_ ," I mumbled through my bite, recalling the group of people we saw smoking outside before we were allowed inside.

"I can't do that kind of shot again. I'm _not_ a fan of tequila," Bella clutched her chest and took a sip of her jack and coke. "I don't know if I like doing shots _period_."

Rosalie laughed and pretended to sip her sparkling water for show. "You guys are wimps. You should've seen me in the late roaring 20's," she winked.

Alice smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She had also experienced the roaring 20's but in a much, much more different way.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" The bartender behind us asked. I spun my stool to look back at her and instantly found myself sizing her up. She was stunning. Long black hair that nearly touched the button of her perky ass and framed her face perfectly. To humans, her eyes looked normal— a pretty shade of brown...but to those with special abilities, you could tell they were colored contacts. Hiding her crimson red irises underneath. She was the first vampire I had met who drank from humans, other than the Volturi.

"Come on let's go dance some more!" Alice interrupted, suddenly perky again.  
"I'm gonna get another drink, you guys go ahead," I turned to them and shot a grin. Bella was definitely tipsy, and Alice was already headed to the dance floor, knowing what I was gonna say before I even said it, with Bella's hand in tow.  
Rose squeezed my arm and looked at the bartender, then me. "Shout if you need anything," she muttered before catching up with the other two.

"You're not like anyone I've ever seen before," the mixologist stated while wiping down the counter. Her smirk sent shivers down my spine, but in an exciting way.

Rosalie and Alice had warned Bella and I beforehand that there might be other vampires in the city— with Victoria's changing spree and then just the fact that it was a largely populated city. This bar in particular was also historically safe for our kind, something about prohibition days or something. It made me wonder how many vampires in total there were in the world— and how humans haven't noticed their existence before.

"Cat got your tongue there?" She cocked her head to the side and smiled at me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and found myself smiling back. "I'm sorry, I totally spaced out on you," I giggled. "So you don't like tequila, duly noted, did you like the jack and coke?" She started wiping off a fresh glass for me.

I took a deep breath, slightly feeling the start of a buzz myself. My knees felt weak and the room moved in a slower motion. "It was okay, but it wasn't really sweet enough. I'm not a huge fan of the burn," I caught myself chuckling. The hypocrisy was ridiculous. I felt a slight burning sensation constantly from the venom in my system, my throat always on fire— but I couldn't handle the burning from a stiff drink.

"Well from what I remember, I used to really like this drink in particular when I started out." She had already started pouring multiple different liquids while she spoke. Her movements so fluid and balanced. "What's your name?" She set the glass down in front of me in record time. "Violet," I grabbed the straw with my lips and slowly sipped, nervous for the same strong taste of liquor. "Better?" She smiled as I looked up through my eyelashes. "Much," I responded.

"Anastasia," she blurted out while cutting more lemons and limes. "Hmm?" I continued to drink, maybe a little too fast. "My name." She raised her eyebrow, a hint of annoyance that I didn't ask for it.

"This is really good. What's it called?" I tried lightening the mood. "Long Island Iced Tea, baby. I make the best one in the whole city," she shrugged "so I'm told anyways."

I opened my mouth to ask her more questions about our kind but was quickly interrupted.

"Can I get 5 shots of Grey Goose for me and my buddies sweetheart?" a man's voice boomed next to me. He sat down on the barstool on my left side and instantly flashed a smile, intentionally staring at me. "Tonight is my lucky night— this place is just packed full of gorgeous women." My cheeks instantly got hot, not knowing how to react.

He wasn't anything amazing to look at, at least not after the amount of gorgeous vampires and werewolves I'd met in my short lifetime. He was human and reeked of cologne to the point of burning my nose. I couldn't help but hold my breath.

"So, what's a guy gotta do to get a dance with one of you?" I internally cringed at his pathetic rhyme. He ran his fingers through his greased up dirty blonde hair and leaned on his elbow against the bar. Anastasia was silent as she quickly poured his shots and pushed the tray against his arm. "What's the name for the tab?" There was no emotion in her voice.  
"Donald, baby cakes, don't forget it next time," he smirked.  
"Take a shot with me." He held one up to my face, not asking but _telling_ me. "No thanks, I'm actually going back to my friends now," I turned away from him and looked at the dance floor, instantly finding Bella with her shining bride apparel with Rose and Alice next to her.

I felt a hand grab my arm, a little too strong for my liking, and knew this guy was gonna be trouble. "C'mon just one shot. Or at least take a drink of yours while I take mine," I slid my arm out of his reach and grabbed my drink.

Instantly my spine straightened, and my annoyance turned into rage. My drink instantly smelled different, almost chemically, to my super sensitive nose. The fucker was trying to roofie me.

He clinked his shot against my cup, obviously not noticing my change of attitude and waited for me to take a sip.

Meanwhile Anastasia had moved on to other customers.

I put my mouth seductively over the straw to take a sip, spitting it back into the glass when his head cocked back with his mouth full of vodka.

I leaned over the bar, ass in the air, and yelled over the music "Hey Anastasia, can you make another drink for me?" She looked over at us, confused, but nodded. " _Trust me, please_ ," I whispered so low that only she would hear, and her eyes suddenly narrowed at the asshole staring at my butt.

I hopped down from the bar, my now poisoned drink in one hand while I grabbed the disgusting excuse for a human with the other. "Come with me," I purred— dragging him out of his seat. His eyes were wide with surprise, but he didn't have to be told twice.  
His heart rate quickened when I moved my hand from his arm to his chest, trailing down to the bottom of his tie.  
I grabbed it hard and turned, walking towards the bathrooms.  
" _Fuck_ , baby, what did I do to deserve this?" We quickly made it to the single handicap restroom and I slammed him again the door. "Shut up," I ordered.

I smacked the door handle, threw open the door and shoved him inside, clicking the lock behind me. He took this opportunity to grab my hips, still oblivious to my anger. I turned and grabbed a full fist of his slimy hair before knocking his head into the bathroom tile, cracking it slightly.

He fell on to his knees, instantly disoriented, and groaned in pain. "What the fuck," he managed to spit out. I grabbed him by the collar and my vision started going red.  
"Open your mouth," I barked. "What?" He tried reaching up to rub his bruising temple. " _Drink_ ," I spat at him. I shoved the tainted glass of Long Island into his lips, but he still had enough strength to refuse. "What the hell, bitch—"I let go of his collar to roughly grab his chin and force his mouth to stay open. "Drink it or choke on it, you fucking prick," I poured the entire cocktail into his mouth and didn't let go until he had swallowed a majority of it.

"You think you can just drug up girls to get a quick lay?" I started shouting while I undid his tie completely and kicked him against the wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. "You are disgusting. If I _ever_ see your face again, you won't live to see another day," I spat out every word while tying his hands to the metal handicap railing and pulled the knot as tight as I could.

He was quickly becoming disoriented from the drug and potential concussion I gave him.

I got up and brushed off my dress before washing my hands.  
"I'll kill you," he tried threatening but it came out in slurs. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Try me, asshole." I spat in his face and opened the bathroom door to see Rosalie, Alice, and Bella all waiting for me. I ripped off the doorknob handle and dropped it on to the floor, still unbelievably pissed. "Sorry ladies, this bathroom's closed," I huffed.

Half a minute went by before any of them said something.

"DUDE." Bella started laughing, breaking the silence, clearly drunk. "They told me everything! Are you okay?"

"You are one hundred percent a Cullen," Rose smirked. "Do you want to leave?" Alice asked, slightly smiling herself.

"Nah, let's go get another drink. Asshole took mine." I winked, trying to calm myself down.

"I cannot wait to tell Emmett about this."

 **\- the next morning-**

* * *

My body felt like a bag of bricks. I didn't want to get up but the blinding light of the sun was making my headache worse and I couldn't fall back asleep.  
I groaned and managed to pull the covers over my head, alleviating a fraction of the pain.

"Wake up, sleepyhead, I'm hungry!" Bella chimed, hopping in the king bed and shaking the mattress. "Don't talk about food, you're making me nauseous." She gasped and immediately quieted down. "Oh sorry, you really feel that hungover? Did you drink any water? I feel fine,"  
Just as quickly she hopped out of bed and into the bathroom, turning on the faucet. "Yeah well lucky you." I tried sitting up but instantly slouched over again. Bella returned with a glass of good ole H2O. "Maybe another shot would help too?"

"Which kind?" Rosalie joked while walking into the bedroom, hearing our conversation. Imagining the other kind of shot instantly made me gag. "Don't even say that word," I begged while trying to swallow some water. "Oh jeez, you know what I mean."

Bella took out the familiar case from under the bed and handed me another syringe.  
"Well it looks like you and Alice can't go out with us today," I casually noted the sun shining through our windows and reflecting off of Rosalie's skin like diamonds. I looked down at the needle and saw my own skin shining, but more of like a slight body glitter shine. The venom burned like usual, but it _was_ actually helping my hangover. The idea of food no longer nauseating me. _Remind me to thank Carlisle when we get back home.  
_  
'Don't worry, it'll overcast again at 6:30. You and Bella should go explore, we'll be fine."  
I packed the empty syringe back into the case and nearly gasped when Alice finished her sentence. "You're going to let Bella go out in _public_? Unprotected?" the sarcasm thick in my voice. "You survived for 17 years without Edward, I think you can manage a brunch or shopping without us." Alice waved her hand and walked back out into the living room.  
"We could go to the Space Needle!" Bella exclaimed while jumping into her jeans.  
I showed my hands in defeat while getting out of the cozy hotel bed.

"Alright, alright, whatever the bride wants. Just let me take a shower first, I can smell the liquor seeping out of my pores," I smiled, only half-joking.

"Okay but don't take forever, I'm _starving,"_ Bella pleaded. I grabbed a small pouch of blood from our mini fridge, also courtesy of Carlisle, and headed to the bathroom.

I turned on the water and checked my phone while casually sipping from the red bag. I chuckled at the thought of room service freaking out if they came into the suite to clean. Needles under the bed, blood in the fridge, sparkling girls sitting on the couch, totally normal stuff.

I sent a quick text to Carlisle, thanking him for the extra venom, and then a courtesy text to Edward to tell him Bella survived her first night of partying—though I'm sure Bella had already called him. And then I saw three unread texts from Seth from last night…er, well really early this morning.

 **Hope you're having fun party animal** – 2:33am

 **Text me when you get back to your room okay!** – 3:06am

 **You're alive right? Just kidding…kind of.** – 4:57 am

I smacked my palm against my forehead. _You suck Violet_ I scolded myself.

I tried responding back as fast as I could.

 **I'm sorry! I'm alive! Definitely hungover. Sorry to give you such a scare…didn't know I had that effect on you, wolf boy. ;P  
I found out last night that I really like Long Islands. Can't wait to party with you back at home. :)**

I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding in and set my phone on the bathroom counter before stepping into the hot shower.

Seth gave me such intense butterflies, but I couldn't explain why. My body had such an intense reaction to his presence even though I've only seen him less than a handful of times.  
Was it because he was kind of like a forbidden fruit? Or because he was so kind to me when I was on the brink of death? I couldn't tell.

I quickly shampooed my long hair, grown out again to style for the wedding, and scrubbed my body clean.  
 _I wonder how roofie boy is doing today. "Mr. Donald"._ I chuckled out loud at the thought.

I had told Anastasia about the incident and she called the cops for us, no questions asked. It was a little scary that they had just taken her word for it, but I guess this guy had a record and they took him in for the night. Obviously the little venom from me spitting the tainted drink back into the cup didn't effect him.

"Hey Violet?" Alice's voice echoed through the door, interrupting my thoughts. "If I have to stay inside can I at least pick your outfit?" I couldn't help but smile when I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't dream of having it any other way, Al."

"Love you!" She squealed before shutting the door.  
"Love you too," I responded, feeling happier than I thought was humanly possible.

"These cranberries are amazing," Bella nearly moaned while eating her Michigan salad. The Space Needle conveniently had a restaurant so we could tackle two bird with one stone. "This _view_ is amazing." I added, taking a sip of sparkling water.

"Are you doing okay after what happened last night?" Bella asked, suddenly concerned. "I know I was really giggly last night but it's really scary that it even happened. I mean what if it hadn't been you?" I violently stabbed a piece of chicken on my plate with my fork. "I know. That's exactly why I reacted the way I did. Piece of scum on earth." Just as violently, I bit off the chicken and swallowed hard.

"Can I get you ladies anything else this afternoon?" our waiter politely asked while topping off my water and Bella's sweet tea.  
"No I think we're all set here, I can take care of the bill whenever you get a chance," I replied, not even really looking his way.

"Absolutely," he lingered for a moment as if to say something else but quickly left our table to take care of the other customers. I looked up from my plate, mouth open to take a bite, to see Bella smirking.

"What? I'm sorry did you want to order something else-" She rolled her eyes. "I feel so absolutely plain whenever I'm with you Cullen girls."

"What are you talking about?" I huffed and set my fork down. "You didn't see him staring at you? Hell, half the men in this restaurant are!" I couldn't help but blow all the air out of my lungs between my lips.  
"Bella, do you ever think they're looking at _you_? You have legs for days. You don't see how beautiful you really are. You seduced," I stopped myself and hushed to a whisper before finishing my sentence. "You seduced a vampire, after all, I shouldn't have to tell you this."

She laughed and waved her hand to show she was done with this conversation.

She never could take compliments well. I sighed and wondered who was the one responsible for making her self-esteem so low.

"Are you getting excited for Sunday?" I asked, resuming to eat my meal. Her smile grew ear to ear. "Nervous, but yes. Very very excited."

I wiggled my eyebrows "Are you getting excited for the honeymoon?" Her skin didn't take long to turn pink. "Same answer," she bit her lip, still smiling.

"Have you guys ever…done it yet?" I asked, slightly lowering the volume of my voice again. She sighed.

"No, he's scared of hurting me. I mean we've done other stuff but it doesn't last very long. Plus he's very traditional apparently," she almost sounded annoyed. I was surprised at how open she was talking about this, but also glad.

"How did you know you were…ready," I hesitated to ask, not knowing how she would react. She stopped chewing and tried to keep her composure, obviously not expecting that question.

"I mean I still don't really know. It's different for Edward and I's situation I suppose… but after a while of kisses turning into make outs…you just know. You get excited for…more. If that makes sense." She pressed her tongue into her cheek before asking her next question.

"Do you think you're…" "No, no, no," I shook my head, and awkwardly laughed  
"No, I haven't even kissed anyone yet—I'm just rambling, I'm sorry." Bella follows in a slightly awkward laugh herself.  
"It's so hard to remember that you're not my age. It doesn't feel like you're that much younger than I am… but I mean, I guess we don't really know." She trailed off, trying to read my reaction.

Her heartbeat quickened its pace slightly. "It's okay, Bell, you don't have to tip toe around me anymore." I resumed eating to try and fight the sudden stale energy between us.  
I wouldn't deny that I constantly had thoughts about how I came to be. Why Jane looked at me like she knew something before the Volturi left that day in the clearing. Why I heard a loud boom that no one else seemed to be aware of that first day of my transformation when Alice trapped me in their bathroom—hiding me from the all empowering scent of the woman sitting two feet away from me.

Bella's scent, along with other humans, definitely made my blood lusting thirst more uncomfortable but my remaining humanity was strong enough to give me realistic boundaries. The thought of going crazy with thirst and to be driven to hurt, or even kill, a human would not… _could not_ …be my reality.

Bella started biting the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit that she almost never realized she was even doing. "I can feel your thoughts are racing, Bells, what's on your mind?" She looked at me and slightly sighed, a smile turning at the corners of her lips. "My dad calls me that," I raised my water glass and took a long drink, waiting for her to continue.  
"No tip-toeing right?" My eyebrows wrinkled together, "After this weekend? C'mon," she chuckled.

"Okay, then what's the deal with you and Seth." Her sentence started strong, almost blunt, but her confidence wavered at the last words to come out of her mouth.

I took in a deep breath, no longer nervous or embarrassed like I had been when everyone had caught me red handed sneaking out just a days ago, the topic seeming to come up quite frequently now.  
I couldn't help but rub the side of my face, trying to come up with a good answer. Bella wasn't just curious, but also protective of Seth and the entire La Push family…well, more so Jacob Black than anyone else, but Seth was good to Bella and Charlie. It made sense that she wanted answers.

"I don't really—" mid-sentence the waiter came back and dropped off the tab with his perky smile. "Here's that for you, ladies, take your time and—" Probably a little too fast, I plopped the credit card that Alice had handed me earlier this morning before we left and slid the bill back to him.  
"Er, great, I'll be right back," he muttered, disappointed that I wasn't giving him more attention. Bella chuckled, her eyebrows slightly raised at my reaction, and waved her hand. "Go on," she gestured.  
I started fidgeting with my fingers, something I rarely do, and found myself getting slightly irritated. Not at Bella, not at anyone really, just at the entire confusing situation.

"I don't know, Bella, he's undeniably great—you already know that. You were there on that mountain. He was so kind and protective," I trailed off.  
"But now that we're not on that mountain…?" she questioned.

"He's still great, amazing even. And he's not that bad to look at either," I managed a laugh. A twang of guilt rang in my stomach instantly—I was lying to myself. He was drop dead gorgeous, not simply "not that bad to look at".

"But…?" she was growing impatient with me talking in circles. "He's a wolf, Bella. Not just any wolf either, but a wolf who happens to belong to the tribe that has a treaty against our family—a tribe that kills our kind." I had to hold myself back from bending the extra silverware next to my plate.

She crossed her arms and cocked her eyebrow. "So?" she smirked. My mouth slightly fell open. "So!?" I nearly hissed. "Shhh! Calm down," a laugh escaped from her belly.

"Violet, so what. I'm human, Edward's a vampire and I'm fricken walking down the aisle with him in two days. The Volturi isn't exactly that different from the tribe. They both have their conditions."

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of their sockets. "Oh yeah and I'm sure the Volturi will have no problem with me shacking it up with a werewolf either. I have both to worry about!" She bit her lip, obviously not thinking that far ahead.  
I took her silence as permission to keep going with my rant. "You and Edward are so different too, I've heard the stories, you knew from day one practically. Seth could be a minor chapter in my life, I don't know if it's worth the trouble of stirring up complications with the tribe and treaty shit."

I stopped my words right as the waiter came back with our final copy of the bill and card but I still noticed Bella's sudden suck of breath. I couldn't tell if my words had just shocked her or if she wanted to say something more. I smiled at the waiter, trying to be polite before he walked away and looked back down to notice seven handwritten numbers in blue ink on my receipt.

"Well that's a bold move," Bella noted, obviously seeing the ignored handwritten script as well.

"Ugh, lets get out of here. We came here to relax and celebrate you, _Mrs. Cullen_." I stood up and tried my hardest to unclench my muscles, but Bella's words kept ringing in my head for the rest of the afternoon.

We went to the top of the Space Needle, walked through Pike Place Market, and took a brief trip into the Seattle Art Museum.

I tried to be a good sport for Bella but even she could tell that I was debating with my inner voice the entire time.  
It was pointless at this point to deny that Seth and I had chemistry, it was thick enough to cut with a knife. But to risk everything for the possibility of it being just a fling… I couldn't think that far ahead. I had to live in the now, for Bella and Edward, and the rest of my family.

We were on the walk back to the hotel when a dangerously fun thought popped into my head.

"Okay, hear me out, we've done your touristy stuff today but what else is something that humans get to experience that vampires can't?" I questioned her as she looked out into Elliot Bay. It was nearly sun set and Alice and Rose would be calling us soon to get ready for another night out.

"Ummm…coffee?" She asked while stifling a deep yawn. I couldn't help but laugh at her cute composure.

"I mean yes, but I was thinking more daring than that," I got behind her shoulders and pointed towards the dark shop with neon lettering that blinked in white and pink. In bold letters it read "tattoos and piercings". I grabbed her hand and dragged her to the door before she had time to react.

"C'mon miss bride!"


End file.
